Our Never Ending Love
by Smitha
Summary: After the last episode of the anime, Misaki moved to America unexpectedly, without getting the chance to tell Usui. Misaki soon becomes principal at a highschool. What happens when Usui becomes vice-principal, without Misaki knowing his true identity?
1. Chapter 1

**Misaki's POV**

I sighed in frustration as I waited for the new vice-principal. I had asked him to come in precisely at 6:30 AM. I glanced at the watch on my wrist. It read 6:35. I had to attend a faculty meeting at 7, and introduce him, and I could not be late. It would ruin my reputation.

"Where is he?" I said aloud.

"Misaki, you can't expect him to be on time," my secretary called from her office. That's one of my never-ending list of problems: I expect everyone to be time. "Besides, he just came from Japan a few days ago. He might not even be fully unpacked. Give him some time," she said. That's why I love her- my secretary and best friend. She knows how to calm me down. But that's not on my mind right now.

"He's from Japan?" I asked her. I'm the only Japanese in this school, apparently. I moved here, in New Jersey, when I was in high school. I moved the day after I told _him _my feelings. I still love him. Usui Takumi. I miss him so much.

"He's part Japanese and part British. Gosh Misaki do your research." She says with a laugh. And I'm thinking of him again. Usui's part British and Japanese. God, I miss him so much!

I could hear her laugh from the other room. "No reply, you're probably thinking of Usui." I blush. Thank God she's not here to see it. I tell her everything. She's been my best friend since the first day I moved here.

"No, I'm not, Megan!" I shouted in frustration.

She chuckles. "Calm down, I was just only kidding."

"Oh," I said.

* * *

**Ikuto/Takumi's POV**

_Damn,_ _I'm late_, I thought. I straightened my tie. Yeah, I'm wearing a tie. I also have a briefcase. _Okay, this professional thing isn't working out for me,_ I thought. I ran out the door and drove like a maniac narrowly missing two kids walking across the street. I reached the high school and ran inside.

I opened the door while trying to straighten my tie.

"I'm terribly sorry about my lateness. I just moved in and-

"It's alright," the principal said with a smile. I froze when I saw her. _Misaki Ayuzawa. My first love._ I could have just died there. I dropped my briefcase.

* * *

**Misaki's POV**

"Are you okay?" I asked uncertainly. _What happened to him? _I thought. I look over to my assistant who's looking at me with a smirk on her face. I get up from my chair and go pick up his briefcase which happened to fall on his foot.

"Are you hurt?" I asked him giving him a poke on the shoulder.

He cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah, sorry about that. So you're the principal right? Misaki Ayuzawa,"he said triumphantly. He held out his hand and I shook it.

"Yeah, I am. And you?" I said.

"Ikuto Usui." He replied.

"Usui?" I asked.

There is a smirk on his face, "Yeah, anything wrong with it?"

"Uh, nothing, it's just when I was in Japan I had a… friend… whose last name was Usui so….," I trail off. _More like perverted outer-space alien._ I look to Megan who is stifling a laugh.

His smirk gets wider, if it could get any wider, "Oh really?"

"Yeah, so anyway, I have a lot of work for you. So, you'll start right away," I say, starting to get irritated of his smirk. It feels achingly familiar.

"Okay, then," he says.

I showed him into his office his and had him settled.

I walked out of his room and into mine and saw Megan leaning against the wall.

"He looks like him," I said finally. I'm hoping Ikuto is not going to hear the conversation we're going to have. Little did I know he was listening to every word I said.

"Who?" she asked innocently.

"Usui Takumi," I said punching her arm.

"Of course," she said.

"Except for the black hair and brown eyes, he looks _exactly _like Usui," I told her.

"That doesn't prove anything," she said. Then she walked to her room.

_She's right. I'm just going crazy,_ I thought. I went back to my work.

* * *

**Ikuto/ Takumi's POV**

After the faculty meeting, Misaki showed me around John F. Kennedy High School. I looked at her. The main reason I came here was because I was trying to find Misaki. I found her. _Now, I'm going to have some fun with her, _I said grinning to myself.

We were walking outside the school when Misaki saw some highschool boys trying to bully a highschool girl. My Demon President did what my Demon President would always do. She marched up to them and threw a big fit. She gave them detention and a big lecture. She told the girl that she could go home for the day and walked back to me. _She just never changes, _I thought.

"_Tsk, tsk, tsk, _I thought you were much less stricter than that Miss Ayuzawa," I said.

She blushed, "Well I…"

I chuckled, " It's okay, _Demon Principal._"

She narrowed her eyes at me, "Where did you get that from?"

"Oh, come on, those boys were saying it," I said." I'm gonna call you that from now on," I added with a smirk.

Fuming, Misaki marched away. _She didn't change one bit,_ I thought.

Misaki had gone off home. I stayed back at the office to finish the load of paperwork she gave me. As I was thinking about her, Megan walked in.

I looked up, "Hey, Megan."

"Hi, you're Takumi Usui, aren't you? You can tell me, I won't tell Misaki," she told me.

I smile, "Yup, I am."

She sat down on a chair. "She's really stupid, isn't she?" she asked me with a grin.

I nodded my head. "That's my Demon Principal."

She laughed. "She never stopped talking about you. She misses you a lot you know. Why aren't you telling her it's you?" Megan asked.

"If she missed me so much she could've called me. She didn't even tell me she was leaving for New Jersey,USA," I accused. "So, now I'm not going to tell her it's me. Payback time. I'm going to listen to her talk about me and how she misses me so much, blah,blah,blah. Then I wanna see the look on her face when I tell her it's me."

"Make sure I'm there. I wouldn't miss her reaction for the world." She said. She stood up, said bye, and left.

_Hmmmm. This is going to be fun,_ I thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ikuto/ Takumi's POV**

As soon as I reached my apartment, I went to the fridge to see what I can cook for some dinner.

_Damn, I didn't buy any groceries,_ I thought.

I grabbed the keys to the apartment and my wallet and went out the door.

I had some time before dinner, so I went for a walk first. The weather was really nice. It was mostly sunny with a slight breeze. It was early October, so it should be getting colder soon. "Right?" I asked myself. I just came from Japan, so the seasons are all mixed up. _Oh well,_ I thought.

I was just walking by the park when I saw two little kids crying. They spotted me and came running towards me.

"Do you know where mommy is?" the little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes asks me.

"Yeah, she's didn't come back for hours," the little boy with black hair and blue eyes asks me.

"I didn't see her, do you want me to help you find her?" I ask them in my oh-so-sweet voice.

An older girl who looks about 13 comes up to me and rolls her golden brown eyes, "Mom's working you _bakas_, she'll come back to pick us up when she's done."

"But she's been gone for hours," the boy states in a worried tone.

"This is not the first time," the older girl mutters under her breath.

"How long has she been gone?" I ask.

"She dropped us off here at the park at 3:30," the older girl checks her watch, "it's 7 now. I can't believe I have to take care of these idiots."

The little ones looked worried and I thought I should take their mind off their mom. "You guys must be hungry then. Do you want to eat and then I'll help you find your mom."

"She's just working! She'll come to pick us up at 8:30," the older one protests.

"I'll take you out to eat," I said. The older one raises an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, It's not like I'm trying to kidnap you," I said to her. "Do you still want to take care of these two alone or shall I help," I asked her in a teasing tone.

"Fine! Where are we going?" she huffed. Now who does that remind you of?

"A restaurant. Let's go," I told them.

We were walking for about fifteen minutes in silence so I decided to make conversation.

"So, what're your names?" I asked them.

"My name's Amaya, but everyone calls me Maya," the little girl announced happily.

"My name's Kazumi," the older girl said grumpily.

"And this is my twin brother, Ichigo," Maya said gesturing to the little boy. "We're five years old and my sister is thirteen."

"Don't tell the stranger everything _baka," _Kazumi said to Maya.

We were walking for awhile until we spotted a restaurant on the very edge of Edison called Strawberry Skies. Kazumi instantly paled. All the color drained from her face.

"Uhh… how about we go somewhere else?" she asked.

"Nah, we're already here. Come on, let's go inside," I said.

"No.. we can't. Please let's just go somewhere else," she begged.

"Come on," I said as I took the two twins with me inside. "You don't want to leave your siblings with me alone, do you?" I asked Kazumi with a grin. She reluctantly followed me inside.

We got a table at the far end of the restaurant. I checked the menu. "This restaurant does co-splay," I smirked.

"Yeah," Kazumi muttered.

Our heads were all bowed down as we read the menu, when a waitress came up to us.

"May I take your order?" Misaki asked them.

* * *

**Misaki's POV**

_Oh my gosh,_ I thought. I can't believe the vice principal's here. This is so embarrassing. My cheeks turned a violent shade of red as I saw my kids with Ikuto Takumi.

"What are you guys doing here with him?" I snapped at my kids.

"These kids were waiting for their mom to come back from work and they looked hungry, so I decided to take them out to eat. Do you know them?" Ikuto asked me.

"Yeah, they're…." I glanced at the twins, "my kids," I told him. They're not mine. They're my niece and nephew. I take care of them since their mother/my sister died. Kazumi knows this, but the twins don't.

He smirked that really irritating smirk, "..and why are you here?"

"What does it look like? I work here as a waitress," I told him. "Please don't tell anyone. No one knows," I beg him.

"Not even Megan?" he asked me.

"No," I said sheepishly, my cheeks turning pink. I remember almost the same thing happened back in Japan. Usui Takumi found out I was working at a maid café and he kept my secret. I felt my cheeks turn redder at the thought.

"Oh I know why she's turning red," Maya announced happily. "The guy she loved found out she was a maid when she was back in Japan. I bet you she's thinking of him right now." _Oh, why did I tell them about him? _I thought.

"N-n-no I w-wasn't," I stammered.

"Oh really?" I asked her.

"N-no I wasn't thinking of him!" I exclaimed.

"And you worked as a _maid_ in Japan?" Ikuto asked.

My face was turning redder by the minute. "What would you like to order?" I asked again.

He chuckled, "Okay, fine we'll leave the subject."

* * *

**Ikuto/ Takumi's POV**

I walked them back to their house and headed back to my apartment. _Now I now where she lives_, I thought. _Hmmm it's been a while since I stalked her,_ I grinned to myself. She's so interesting. She always has the oddest jobs. A maid, principal, and now a waitress. And it's so funny when the subject of me comes up. I hope she still loves me. If she doesn't…. I swear I'll go and kill myself.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: FYI, the story is not always centered around Misaki and Usui. Sometimes, a chapter will be centered around Misaki's whole family in general because I'm thinking about a sequel about the life of the kids when they're older. This chapter's mostly about what happened to Kazumi, Ichigo, and Amaya's father and mother. It's kinda sad. Anyway, enjoy :D_

_**Disclaimer: **I do not own the song. It's called A Place in this World by Taylor Swift. All rights to Taylor! It's a pretty good song, you should listen to it. ;)_

* * *

**Misaki's POV**

When we got home, I read the twins a book and they soon drifted off to sleep.

I kissed each of their forehead, said good-night, and tip-toed out of the room. Kazumi was standing out the door with her arms crossed.

"Why do you act like you're their mom?" Kazumi asked angrily.

"Because I am their mom," I told her.

"Stop lying," she said angrily. "Mom died. Stop acting like their mom. Just tell them you're their aunt!"

"You're mom told me to take care of you! I'm not going to tell them until they're old enough and ready to hear that I'm not their mom. And stop being so loud, they'll hear!" I whispered angrily.

"No, I hate you! If you were never alive, we would've been living with dad!"

"You're so-called-dad just _left _you and the twins. You mom told _me_ to raise you because you're dad can't be trusted. He's a criminal."

"My dad loved my mom!" she shouted.

"Yeah, he did love Suzana, but he loathed you and the twins. He hated you with so much passion that if he took you after Suzana died, he would've killed you! That's why I took you guys. I saved your _life_," I shouted.

"No, he wouldn't have! He loved me, he was a great father," she defended.

"It was only an act for your mother," I said quietly.

"No, it wasn't, he'll come back for me, I know he will, just you watch and he'll come back," she said with tears in her eyes.

"Stop defending that freaking bitch!" I told her.

She glared at me, "Don't you dare _ever_ call him that again." With that she marched off to her room.

* * *

**Amaya's POV**

Wow. It was impossible not to hear them. They were so loud. So we heard every word of their conversation. Ichigo and I were awake, anyway. We never really slept, just pretended to since the book was getting boring. Misaki doesn't read it like most mothers do, with emotion into each of the words. But Ichigo and I still love her because she tries really hard to make us happy.

"Kazumi and Aunt Misaki never really talked about mom and dad before, let alone argue about it," I told Ichigo when I knew it was safe for me to talk without getting caught. We have always known Misaki's not our real mom. Kazumi and Misaki don't know, though. So, we keep calling Misaki mom.

"I know," Ichigo says. He's not really the talkative type. He just listens. "Amaya," I wince at my full name. Only Misaki and Ichigo calls me that and I'm not really used to it. "I know that you know how mom died, but I don't. Can you tell me?" I widen my eyes. Grandma had told me a long time ago. She told me a lot of things that everyone else refused to explain to me. I understood that if I questioned anyone about what Grandma told me, she would get in trouble for it.

So I kept it to myself.

I nodded, "She… She d-died giving birth to us." I let a tear escape. "Mom had a problem giving birth. (She had child birth issues.) It was a miracle that she lived with Kazumi. But, we're twins. If mom had us killed before we were born, she would've lived. But if she gave birth to us, she would've died. But she refused to kill us. She gave away her life for us to live." (a/n: Tsk Tsk, you shouldn't know this stuff, you're only 5…But, do to the circumstances, they were forced to mature pretty fast.)

A tear escaped Ichigo's eyes. "I can't believe she did that."

"I know. But that's why I promised to Grandma and myself that I would try my best to be a good person. I have to always help people no matter how much pain I'm in, no matter how much I'm hurt. Do you now understand why I always am happy and never let anything get in my way? How I always help someone no matter how much pain they caused me especially all those bullies in class? They all have their own past. I promised that I'll never give anybody trouble. An innocent life was sacrificed for us to live, so I'm going to make that sacrifice worth it. Do you… promise this too, Ichigo?"

"Yeah, I do," he smiled. "We can't give any trouble to Misaki."

"Or Kazumi," I add.

"Okay."

"Misaki loves us and tries to keep us happy. And mom wants us to live with her because she trusts her. So, if dad ever comes back, we will never _ever_ leave Misaki to live with dad."

"Deal. Pinky swear?" he asks.

"Pinky swear," I confirm. I hug him.

Suddenly I hear beautiful music fill the air.

* * *

**Kazumi's POV**

After the argument with Misaki, I ran to my bedroom. We have a pretty big house with four bedrooms, so yeah I have my own room. Thank goodness, it would be so annoying sharing a room with the twins. Once I get inside my room, I slam the door and lean against it. Once in the privacy of my bedroom, I start to let the tears flow. I just stay there like that for like 5 minutes. I miss him so much. _My father. _He kept me happy, until he left when I was seven. I'm thirteen now. (a/n: Do the math. How long has he been gone?) Ughh, I shouldn't be crying, it's been such a long time since he's been gone. But still, it felt just like yesterday, that he read me stories and took me wherever I wanted. He kept mom happy, too. Until those stupid twins were born. (a/n: Now you know why she hates them.) He bought me everything I wanted and kept me safe from harm. And every night he would tell me he loves me. _It was only an act for your mother._ Hell, no! I know he loved me. It couldn't have been an act. Could it?

I wiped the tears away. "You're thirteen, if people in school saw you cry, you would've been laughed at," I scolded myself. I opened the door and went to the bathroom to wash my face. Then I started going downstairs to get a drink of water. I heard a creak. I stopped in my tracks and went towards the direction of the creak. I stopped in the hallway that led to my mom's room. _The master bedroom_. In front of the door was a staircase that had been opened up from the ceiling. _The attic,_ I thought. I tiptoed up the staircase. Why would Misaki be here? I raised my head so that only my eyes could be seen. Misaki's back was towards me so she couldn't see me. She had opened one of the many boxes labeled Japan. She was looking at something. A scrapbook.

* * *

**Misaki's POV**

I just needed to see the stuff in the attic. There were too many reminders of home today. _Home._ That new vice principal reminded me too much of Usui Takumi.

I was flipping through a scrapbook that Suzana made, when I reached near the end of the book. There at the end of the scrapbook had pictures of the times where I was really and truly happy. There was no stress of taking care of the family because my dad was still there.

I was happy back then, before he left us. There are pictures of my mom with my dad. She was smiling. She looked so young, like nothing would ever bring her down as long as she was with him. And my sister. She was happy, too. She wasn't that emotionless girl who used to enter contests to win stuff. She was lively, and cute, and joyful. And me. There are pictures with me and my dad and Suzana having the time of our lives.

He made all of us happy. Then why did he leave us? For the first time since he left, which was more than 20 years ago, I let myself cry. There was no anger at him left inside me anymore. Just plain sadness. For what seems like a long time, but in reality only about several minutes, I just sit there and sob and run my fingers over the pictures of my dad murmuring, "Dad, dad… why did you leave."

I wipe my tears away. I have never broken down like this. And I never will again. I have to stay strong. I look once more at the pictures of my dad. And then the conversation with Kazumi echoes into my mind. "Now, I kind of understand how you feel about your dad, Kazumi," I whisper. Funny, how only later I notice that she was watching and listening to me this whole time.

* * *

**Kazumi's POV**

I wipe a tear. I heard stories about how Misaki's dad left her, just like my dad. Maybe she does understand how I feel. Maybe she's just trying not to let my father's betrayal hurt me.

Misaki starts opening some other boxes. She takes out a guitar.

* * *

**Misaki's POV**

I haven't played music or sang since my father left. But, I listened. I loved music. My dad taught me how to play the guitar when I was little and I always loved it. I strum the guitar in my hands. I take out a sheet of guitar music that I printed out this morning. I don't know why I printed it, but I'll use it anyway. Let's see if I remember how to read music and play. I start strumming. I do remember. Pretty soon, I begin singing…

_I don't know what i want, so don't ask me, 'cause I'm still trying to figure it out.__  
__Don't know what's down this road,__  
__I'm just walking.__  
__Trying to see through the rain coming down._

___Even though I'm not the only one,__  
__that feels the way I do._

_I'm alone, on my own, and that's all I know.__  
__I'll be strong, I'll be wrong,__  
__Oh, but life goes on.__  
__Oh, I'm just a girl, trying to find a place in this world._

_Got the radio on, my old blue jeans,__  
__And I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve. Feeling lucky today, got the sunshine.__  
__Can you tell me what more do I need?__  
__And tomorrow's just a mystery, oh yeah,__  
__but that's okay._

_I'm alone, on my own, and that's all I know.__  
__I'll be strong, I'll be wrong,__  
__I'm just a girl, trying to find a place in this world._

_Maybe I'm just a girl on a mission,__  
__but I'm ready to fly._

_I'm alone, on my own, and that's all I know.__  
__Oh, I'll be strong, I'll be wrong.__  
__Oh, but life goes on.__  
__Oh, I'm alone, on my own,__  
__and that's all I know.__  
__Oh, I'm just a girl, trying to find a place in this world._

_Oh, I'm just a girl.__  
__Oh, I'm just a girl.__  
__Oh, oh.__  
__Oh, I'm just a girl._

* * *

**Kazumi's POV**

Omg! Her voice is so angelic. It's so beautiful, I can't even describe it. She should sing more often. I grin. I think I'll have to get her to.

I hear my aunt put the guitar down and walk towards the stairs. Oh no, I have to hide. I quickly run down the stairs and run to my room. I made too much noise but I'll just have to pretend I'm asleep.

But for some reason, my aunt doesn't come looking for me. _Didn't she hear me_? I thought. Oh, well. I wait until she folds the staircase and pushes it back up to the ceiling. ( a/n: the attic is kinda like you pull on a string that's attached to a part of the ceiling and you pull it down. There's a folded staircase that comes along with it and you just make sure it's steady and climb up to the attic. I have one of those so yeah.)

Once I heard Misaki go to bed, I go to her hallway and somehow manage a way to get inside the attic. I go towards a box. On top of it lied the scrapbooks that Misaki was looking at earlier. I flipped through it. First I opened up to the back. There were so many pictures of her dad, and grandma, and Misaki, and mom. Omigod mom! She looked so young. And happy. I smiled. I hope she's happy right now, up in heaven.

I opened the scrapbook to the front. There are pictures of Aunt Misaki and Usui Takumi. They looked so happy together. I frowned. That face… I've seen it somewhere. It looks way too familiar. Then it hit me. Ikuto Usui.

* * *

_** I hoped you liked it. Please review and constructive criticism is welcome. Taa-taa for now!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Ikuto/ Takumi's POV**

I rung the doorbell to Misaki's house.

"Hi! Mimi's here!" Maya yells. Ichigo comes up behind her.

"Mommy's in the shower right now," he informed.

"Shower, eh," I asked.

"Don't get any ideas, pervert," Kazumi called out from inside.

"Come in, Mimi!" Maya exclaimed.

"Mimi?" I asked.

"Mhmm, Taku_mi_ and Mimi, get it? It's my nickname for you," she explained.

"Oh," I said rather unenthusiastically. She ignored my comment and led me to the living room.

"Maya, Ichigo, I made breakfast. Go eat," ordered Kazumi. The two went into the kitchen to eat.

"Wow, you're real nice to them, Kazumi," I said sarcastically. She looked at me and stared, not saying anything. I was starting to get freaked out.

"Impressed by my sexiness?" I asked her.

"What? Eww, no!" she exclaimed. "Never mind that, follow me." I followed her upstairs. She stopped in front of the master bedroom.

"Misaki's in there right?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah, she's taking a shower in the master bathroom." She paused and looked at me face. She must've seen the mischievous grin on my face because she said, "Eww, you really are perverted. Anyway, open that for me." She pointed to panel on the ceiling. I opened it. It led to the attic. Once we got there, Kazumi went over to some boxes and opened them. She took out a bunch of picture and looked at me, then the pictures, me, then the pictures, etc.

"Whatcha looking at?" I asked curiously. I walked over to her and snatched the pictures out of her hand.

"Hey!" she snapped. But she didn't try to take it from me. She was looking at pictures of me, er, without the disguise. Some of the pictures had Misaki and I, most of them with her maid outfit on.

"You guys look alike," she stated.

"Mmmm. Who is this?" I asked.

"Misaki and a guy from Japan," she answered.

"A guy?" I asked.

"Yeah, Misaki fell in love with him. It's the guy who found out she was a maid. She confessed to him the night before she moved here. They kissed," she smiled. "Her first kiss. She really misses him. Do you know him?"

Do I know him? Wow. I more than just know him. But, I can't tell her. "He's my cousin," I stated.

Her face fell. "Oh, you guys look really alike... too alike to be normal."

"Yeah, he's my cousin," I said again and with that I walked away.

I walked down the stairs and tried the door to the master bedroom. It was unlocked. Misaki had just walked out of the bedroom (wrapped in a towel) and went to her walk-in closet. I grinned. she didn't notice me, yet. She walked out of the walk-in closet with clothes in her hand. She stopped in her tracks and screamed.

"What are you doing in here?" Misaki screamed. I quickly closed the door and bolted it, so none of her kids could come in. I walked towards her. "You're not supposed to be in here! Get out!"

I smiled a devious smile, "It was your fault you didn't lock the door." I grabbed her wrists and pinned her to the wall.

"What are you doing?" she managed to whisper. She was turning red and she looked exhausted. She looked as if she was painfully reliving a moment that happened years ago. Well, she did. Several times. I wrapped my fingers around the edge of the towel and pulled. Her eyes widened in surprise. She now was standing naked against the wall. I could do anything with her. She looked so vulnerable- hopeless, even. But that's what pulled me back into my senses. This was enough. I immediately let her go and walked out the room. _**(a/n: Not yet, you pervs =) LOL)**_

"Go change, quickly. We have to get to work," I said monotonously, as I walked out of the room.


	5. Chapter 5

_The same morning as the last chapter…_

**Misaki's POV**

"Bye Ichigo! Bye Maya!" I yelled through the window as they walked into the school. After they left, Ikuto drove away. Yeah, I'm in his car and he's driving me to JFK._** (A/n: John F. Kennedy High school.)**_ I was riding shotgun with him next to me in driver's seat. I stared straight ahead, fuming.

"How was your morning, Ayuzawa?" he asked. I winced at my last name. No one ever called me that except, well, for Takumi. "What's the matter?" he asked teasingly.

"I don't like it when you call me by my first name. And my morning was just fine until you walked in my room when I was going to change!" I fumed.

"Awww, but you enjoyed it, Ayuzawa. I know you did, don't deny it," he said.

"No I didn't pervert! And I told you not to call me by my last name!" I screamed. Can he get any more annoying?

"You enjoyed the closeness of our bodies while you were naked. Stop denying it, Ayuzawa," he teased.

"What the hell, no I didn't you perverted bitch! And don't call me Ayuzawa!" I screamed.

"Why not?" he whined.

"Why not what?" I asked getting annoyed.

"Why can't I call you by your last name? I like to," he stated. He gave me little puppy dog eyes like he was a kindergartener. I looked away.

"It brings back _memories_," I mumbled.

"Of what?" he asked smirking and looked at me. A car was heading towards us.

"Focus on the road, you idiot!" I scolded.

"Of what?" he asked again.

"Of Takumi," I said.

"Who's that?" he asked smirking wider. Ugh, it's so annoying.

"The guy from Japan my kids keep talking about," I mumbled.

He scrunched up his nose, "They're not your kids are they?"

"Well, no, I –no they're not," I said.

"Whose are they?" he asked.

"My sister, Suzana's," I said. "She died giving birth to the twins," I sniffled. I let a tear escape. Ikuto looked alarmed. He parked the car in the JFK parking lot and leaned over and wiped my tear.

"Hey, don't cry," he said gently. I was surprised at his sudden touch.

"What happened to their father?" he inquired.

"He's a criminal. He's in prison right now," I answered.

"Was she… raped?" he asked. I stiffened at the word. She wasn't… but I was…

"No, she wasn't. They fell in love with each other, but he never wanted kids. When Suzana had Kazumi, he pretended to love Kazumi. But he never truly did. In fact, he hated her. Suzana knew this but she said nothing. When she had the twins and died, she gave her children over to me because their father couldn't be trusted. He got mad and tried to kill them along with me. But I reported him to the police and he was arrested. He'll come back for us when he gets released," I explained.

"What did you tell the police?" he asked. I hoped he wouldn't ask that.

"Well, he did commit a lot of crimes before he met Suzana and… he raped me," I admitted. His beautiful brown-eyes widened. Wait, did I just think that? He clenched his fist.

"I'm gonna get him," he said angrily.

"Ikuto?" I asked unsurely. That word snapped him back to his senses.

"Uh… sorry?" he asked sheepishly. "Where is the uh… baby you had?" he asked.

"I put her up for adoption," I said promptly.

"What? Why?" he asked alarmed.

I looked down, "I just.. couldn't take it, there was so much for me to take care of. I know it was wrong to, but I just have too much to handle."

* * *

**Ikuto/Takumi's POV**

Omigod. She's really broken. This is not the Misaki I used to know. She was stronger. She could take any amount of stress and she wouldn't break down. If only I had searched for her earlier. I could've been there to prevent her from being raped. I could've been there for her…

"So, uh, let's go inside," she said. She looked at me and smiled. _Damn, she looked so cute._

As we walked into our offices, Megan came out and smiled.

"Hey, how're you guys?" she asked cheerfully.

"Good, I guess," I replied. Misaki didn't say anything.

"There's a new superintendent. Dr. John Crow retired. _**(A/n: He's actually not that old in real life, but, yeah.)**_ The new guy's name is Tora Igarashi. _**(A/n: Teehee.)**_." We both stiffened at the name. He asked for a meeting with you and the new-vice president. He wanted you to call him about the date and time of the meeting," she informed. She gave both of us a business card with his number.

Megan bit her lip, "You told me about him, Misaki. I'm sorry that bastard is the new superintendent." I smiled. He _is_ one heck of a bastard.

After that we talked to Tora and he said he'd meet us tomorrow for dinner to talk to us about something. Then I went to my office. Damn that Tora. He's planning something and I know it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Misaki's POV**

I walk into the restaurant that I work at, Strawberry Skies,and walk to my manager.

"Hi, Sitwat **_(A/n: My best friend's name :D)_**," I brightly greeted her.

"Misaki! How was work to day?" she asked. I think back to the announcement about the new superintendent and how that pretty much put me in a horrible mood for the rest of the day…

"It was great!" I said cheerfully.

"Great! It's 5:00," she said. "You're shift starts in a half an hour. I have an announcement, so everyone's waiting in the room in the back." Apparently, my shift is during the dinner rush, which is the worst rush of the day. The dinner rush starts at 7:00, so I have time. I usually come early, so I can relax with some of my friends here at the restaurant.

I walk over to the break room, where we usually sit for breaks and when we don't have any customers, yet. I greeted everyone and sit around and listen to the town gossip.

"So, there's this new superintendent for us and he's making us work extra hard. He changed the curriculum for my students and they're having a very hard time trying to bring their grades up!" one of the employees complained. She's a teacher at another school in the district. "Did you hear about him, Misaki?" she asked me.

"Yeah, I'm afraid he's planning to make _my_ life miserable," I said frowning.

"You know him?" she asked me.

"Yeah, Kim. Remember I told you all that in Japan there was that president of the stupid rich kid school?" I asked. They nodded. They love listening to my stories about Japan. They find my life especially interesting, when really it's very aggravating. "Same guy."

"Really? That sucks for you," Kim said to me.

"I agree," the others nodded in agreement. Right then our manager, Sitwat, walked in.

"Hey, everyone!" she says. "Remember we were looking for an extra cook?" she asked. Everyone shakes their heads. It's true; we were never looking for an extra cook. "We weren't," she frowns. "Oh, well, it doesn't matter. I got us an extra cook and this guy cooks great!" she exclaims. **_(A/n: Guess who the new cook is!)_** I have an awkward feeling in my tummy, now. I have a feeling that this is not going to be exactly great.

A man walks through the door and I recognize him immediately. I groan. He smirks in my direction.

"Hi, Misa-chan!" he said in an annoying sing song voice.

"You know this guy?" Lewis, another cook, asked.

"Yeah, he's the new vice-principal in my school," I said, my eyes twitching.

"Excellent! You guys know each other! Well, the next shift starts in 20 minutes. Ikuto introduce yourself to your new friends!" she says in an equally annoying sing song voice. I swear this girl gets on my nerves too much. But, she's still my manager. She left the room leaving us with the newbie.

"So, how well do you cook?" Lewis asked.

"I cook really good! I'll show you," he replied. He and the other cooks left the room to go to the kitchen. I rolled my eyes. He can't be that great. Well, at least not as great as... Takumi. I smile, I remember his cooking. It was really good. Delicious, even. I shake my head. I have to shake the thought out of my head. He's long gone now. He probably doesn't even remember me. **_(A/n: If only you knew.)_**

The rest of my shift went by quickly. We close at 9:00. I usually leave at 8:30, but, today, I extended my shift until closing time. At 9, everyone went to the break room because Sitwat had another announcement for us.

"Okay, so the last week of October we're closing the restaurant temporarily for a week. During that time, we'll be going on vacation. My sister has just recently opened a restaurant in the upper part of the state of New York. I agreed to help her out there because she has next to no employees so far. So, we're going on a trip. You all are welcome to bring your families. Anyone, think that they can't go?" she explained/asked.

"What are the dates we're going to be gone?" I asked.

"Hmm," she took out her agenda. "October 25 to November 2." That worked. The schools had Fall Break from October 26 to November 5. I'll just call in sick for October 25 or something.

"Yeah, I think I can make it."

"Okay, everyone talk with your families and come and report to me at you next shift, 'mkay?" she asked. Everyone nodded their heads and we were allowed to leave.

While I walked home, Ikuto drove by.

"Come on in," he yelled from inside of the car.

"I'm perfectly fine walking, thank you," I said.

"Aww, Misa-chan, it's chilly outside. I don't want you getting sick." Well, it _was_ cold, but I'm independent. If he kept showing up like this, I might have to depend on him.

"No, it's alright," I shrugged him off. He parked the car, picked me up, flung me over his shoulder, and ran back to his car.

"What the- Put me down, you_ baka _Ikuto," I screamed and struggled to get out of his grip. He dropped me in the car and drove off before I could get out. "Idiot," I muttered. He smiled.

"Are you going on the trip?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know. The kids…" I trailed off.

"Just bring them. I'm going," he said encouragingly.

"Yeah, the fact that you're going really makes me wanna go," I said sarcastically. He pulled over in front of my house. He took my face in his hands.

"Of course it does," he says. I hoped he didn't see that all the blood rushed to my face.

"Idiot," I muttered and walked out of the car.

"See ya tomorrow, Misa-chan," he said in a child voice.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you _not _to call me that," I said.

"Why not?" he pouted.

"You can really act like a child, you know," I said. "Bye, Ikuto," I said smiling.

"Bye," he replied.

* * *

_**A/n: I just got an idea! What if Usui never tells Misaki that it's really him and she just ends up with Ikuto? Who wants that to happen? Please review, favorite, and/or subsribe! Thanks to anyone who did! Love ya!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Misaki's POV**

"Hello?" I answered picking up my phone.

"Hey, Misa-chan," Ikuto chirped. I groaned.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" I asked him, frustrated.

"Where are you?" he asked suddenly.

"I'm almost at the restaurant we're supposed to meet in. Why?" I questioned curiously.

* * *

**Ikuto/Takumi's POV**

_Damn. _Oh, God, please don't let Tora get there before me. He might take that chance to do something to Misaki. Revenge, maybe. Because I saved her from that bastard that day in Miyabigaoka. He probably thinks I won't be able to save her now.

"Why did you leave without me? I told you I'd pick you up Misa-chan," I whined.

"Ok, first of all, don't call me that! And, second of all, you never told me you'd pick me up. And third of all, I don't need you to pick me up! I'm totally capable of getting there on my own," she screamed angrily into the phone.

"Ayuzawa, what about Tora-," I started.

"I have to go," she said. And she hung up.

* * *

**Misaki's POV**

Who does he think I am? Did he expect me to wait for him so he could drive me there? Why the hell did he just assume he was going to drive me? He didn't even tell me he was going to pick me up. It doesn't matter; I'm almost at the restaurant. I was in back of the building.

Someone grabbed me and pinned me against the outside wall of the building. I groaned. Why did I always get in these type of situations.

"Do you remember me, Misaki?" a familiar voice asked.

"What do you want from me, Tora?" I asked annoyed.

"Oh, so you _do_ remember me," he said grinning. "And is that any way to talk to the new superintendent. I can fire you anytime."

I glared at him. "Shall we continue what we were doing that day, before Usui barged in?" he asked. I tried to remember what he was talking about. "Oh, don't look so horrified," he said with a smirk. I tried to kick him. He hardened his grip on me and leaned closer, so I struggled to get out of his grasp, but with no luck.

"Misaki, you're fighting a losing battle there," he said against her lips. Then he tried to invade her mouth, biting on her lips.

"Hey, what're you doing?" someone screamed. Tora turned to see who it was, but still remained close to her and not letting her out of his hold. "Let go of her!" the other guy screamed. Tora grinned. That little distraction was just what I needed. I bit his arm and he yelped in pain. I kicked him hard enough for him fall down. I put my foot on his chest.

"Don't you ever try to do that ever again," I said threateningly.

He looked up at me a wild grin on his face. "You don't want to get fired, do you?" he asked. I hesitated, then lifted my foot.

"Goodbye, Tora," I said turning around and walking away. I heard him get up.

"Misaki, don't worry I'll try to make your job miserable," he said. I turned around and glared at him.

"Come at me, bitch," I said.

He chuckled.

* * *

**Ikuto/ Takumi's POV**

Well, that was quite a show there. It's so very amusing watching her be feisty. And there was yet to come.

"Come at me, bitch," she said. I fell over laughing. This was hilarious. **_(A/n: You must be having fun there, honey.)_** She turned around to shoot me a deadly glare. Meanwhile, Tora charged up behind her. She turned around just in time to punch him in the face. Whoa, he didn't see that coming. He stumbled backwards his hand on his eye.

"You know that I know judo, right, Misaki?" he asked with amusement in his voice.

She smiled a kind of threateningly smile. "Oh I know that. And do you think _I_ don't know judo, honey?" she asked sweetly. With that they began to fight. I took a deep breath and went in. Pretty easily actually, I managed to separate them and kept them in a position that if they moved I could easily knock them out. Misaki looked at me in astonishment. "How did you do that?" she asked her eyes wide.

"I guess I'm just better than both of you," I smiled.

"Moron," she muttered.

"Both of you have to stop it now. You make any more commotion, pretty soon, someone's going to come here," I said. I let go of both of them.

"Fine, goodbye," Misaki said and walked away.

"Want me to drive you home?" I asked.

"Uh, whatever," she replied. I looked at Tora and gave him a look that meant 'stay away from her' and walked behind Misaki.

* * *

"Bye, Sitwat," I said and walked out the back door. I walked down a road between two buildings towards my car. At the end of the building was a dark figure. I squinted my eyes to try and make out the figure. He was leaning against the red brick wall with his arms crossed. Looked like he had been there a while.

"Ah, you're finally out," he said. Tora. "It's been a while, _Usui Takumi_."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"You have to be as stupid as Misaki to not guess that it's you," he answered with a laugh. My hands involuntarily clenched into fists. No one called my Misaki stupid, but me.

"What do you want?" I asked. I walked towards him and stopped right in front of him. He had an evil smile on his face.

"Isn't it such a coincidence that I'm in New Jersey at this particular time?" he asked mysteriously.

"How did you find her? How did you find where she moved to?" I asked harshly. His grin got wider.

"Oh, I suppose that's been bothering you awhile. Hasn't it?" he asked not answering my question.

"I asked you a question! I expect you to answer it, Mr. Igarashi," I said, gritting my teeth.

"Someone told me she lived here," he answered.

"Who?" I asked curiously.

"I'm not even so sure myself. But they gave me money to come here," he explained.

"You would've come here even if you weren't offered money."

"But they didn't know that. I got a two for one deal," he laughed. "But anyways, they told me to give this to you," he said. He took out an envelope from inside his jacket, and handed it to me, and then walked away. I stood there staring at the envelope. Finally, I walked to my car, sat inside, turned the lights on, and opened the envelope. Inside was a note containing one sentence written in plain black ink. No signature, nothing. Just one threatening sentence.

'_Stay away from the Ayuzawa girl or I will thrust horror upon horror to her fragile little soul and her stupid little family.'_

* * *

**_A/n: Sorry it took awhile, I've been having a lot of homework. I'll try to update my next chapters sooner._**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ikuto/ Takumi's POV**

'_Stay away from the Ayuzawa girl or I will thrust horror upon horror to her fragile little soul and her stupid little family.'_

No one is going to keep me away from her. And as for the threat, I'll make sure _nothing_ happens to her or the children.

* * *

**Amaya's POV **

"Dinner's ready!" Mom called. Ichigo and I ran downstairs to the dining room.

"Hey, mommy! How was work today?" I asked.

"It was great," she said. I sat down at the table and shoved macaroni and cheese down my mouth. Ichigo did the same. Kazumi walked in and made a disgusted look at my table manners.

"Hey, Kazumi," I said with my mouth full, just to annoy her.

"Ew, don't talk with your mouth full. It's disgusting," she complained. She sits down and starts to eat, avoiding looking at me. I rolled my eyes.

"So, kids, I'm going on a work trip at the end of the month and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me," Mom proposed.

"A work trip for the restaurant or for the school?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm going with the restaurant," she said.

"Where?" I asked eagerly.

"The state of New York. The manager has a sister there who just started a new restaurant there. Her restaurant has almost no employees. So, we're going to help her," she explained.

"Sounds boring. But I'm willing to go if we're missing school," Kazumi said.

"You're only missing one day of school, if you're going. The rest of the trip is during spring break," Mom said, particularly to Kazumi.

"Cool, I wanna go," I said.

"I don't. It sounds _so_ boring," Kazumi grumbled.

"But, I wanna go," Ichigo said.

"So, it's decided. Three against one, Kazumi. You're coming with us," Mom said.

"What? But, I have better stuff to do. That's not fair," Kazumi persisted. "I refuse to go."

"You have to Kazumi. Everyone else is going," Mom said.

"Except me. I'll just stay home," she said.

"You're coming and that's final," Mom said sternly.

"That is so unfair," Kazumi complained. She got up and stormed out of the room. I bit my lip.

"So, Ichigo. Amaya. The babysitter quit. We're going to need a new one," Mom stated.

"What? Why did she quit?" I asked curiously.

"She just finished school. She's going to college in California," Mom explained. Bummer. She was a really nice babysitter. But that's why she hadn't been coming lately. She's busy.

"So, you found a new one?" I asked.

"No, not yet. We're going to have to start looking."

* * *

**_A/n: Guess who the new babysitter is going to be… ;) And sorry this chapter is really short and rushed. I'm just trying to update as much as I can before I go on vacation at the end of this month._**


	9. Chapter 9

**Misaki's POV**

_Starships were meant to fly_

_Hands up and touch the sky_

_Can't stop, 'cause we're so high_

_Let's do this one more time-_

"Hullo?" I groaned.

"Hiiiii Misa-chan," an annoying voice chirped in my ear.

"What do you want Ikuto?" I asked, irritated.

"God, Demon Principal, you're cranky today," he stated.

"Maybe because you JUST WOKE ME UP," I screamed through the phone.

"But, Misa-chan, it's… 1 o' clock in the afternoon," he said. I gritted my teeth.

"So?" I asked.

"Whoa, Ayuzawa, you sleep that long? What were you doing all night?" he asked.

"Yes, I do sleep that long. And I was in bed all night, Ikuto," I said.

"With who?" he asked. I could just see him smirking. Oh boy, I just want to strangle him. So I do. I just imagine his face in front of me and strangle him. Yeah, I _am _pretty cranky today.

"You're so perverted! I was sleeping, you idiot and with no one!" I snapped. He chuckled.

"Well, that's me: perverted," he said. I rolled my eyes. _Baka_. "So, whatcha doin' today?"

"It's Saturday! I was going to sleep all day," I told him.

"Wow, you've gotten lazy. What happened to the Misaki who worked all night and never got any sleep?" he asked.

"What? How did you know that I did that?" I asked.

He paused and then said, "A good stalker has their resources."

"What?"

I heard him laugh. "I asked you what you were doing today."

"Well… since you woke me up, nothing so far," I told him.

"Great! You wanna go somewhere today, Misa-chan?" he asked.

"Just…us?"

"You can bring the kids! We'll go to the park!" he said cheerily. How can he be so active?

"Fine, whatever," I grumbled.

"Okay, be ready, I'll pick you up in 20 minutes," he said shortly.

"What? I'm not even out of bed, yet," I said.

"Then, you better hurry up before I come before you're done with your shower. And you never know what I'll do if your still in the shower."

"I'm not making that mistake again. I'm locking the door, you _baka_ Ikuto," I said.

"A locked door is not much if it stands between a pervert and a naked girl," he stated and I could just feel that annoying smirk on his face. _Perverted idiot! _

"You do anything perverted and you are going to get it!" I threatened and with that I hung up and went rushing in the bathroom.

* * *

When we got to the park, Ichigo and Amaya rushed to the swings, leaving me and Ikuto sitting on a bench to watch them.

"Where's Kazumi?" he asked.

"She stayed at home saying the park is too boring. That girl can be so annoying at times," I said. He just laughed.

"Hmmm… so that guy," he started.

"What guy?" I said immediately.

"Takumi… is that it?"

"What about him?" I mumbled.

"Tell me, what was he like?" he asked smiling. I looked at him. Why does he want to know? He was smiling at me lightly, his brown eyes sparkling. But there was something about his eyes. I think he was wearing contacts.

"Do you have contacts?" I blurted. He looked away.

"Um… yeah," he answered.

"Oh," I said.

"So, my other question?" he asked. "You tend not to answer questions you don't like and try to get off the subject."

"Why do you want to know?"

"Come on," he drawled. "I want to know more about the principal. Besides, we have nothing else to talk about and I'm bored."

"Well, Takumi was… an idiot, a stalker- no, a perverted outer-space alien stalker, he's stupid, he's-,"

"Why did you fall for him, then?" he asked laughing.

"Because he _is_ those things," I found myself smiling. "He always helped me no matter how many times I tried to push him away." I laughed. "I remember how I was so used to him being on my side that when we went in a volleyball tournament with him on the opposing team, I was so surprised. Later, I found it was to avoid me being exploited if I won."

Ikuto smiled. "He must've went through a lot for you." I looked down.

"He _did_. He endured a lot," I said thinking back to what Kuuga said that day at the festival. "But I still miss him." I looked down and tears filled my eyes. _Damn him_. He made me so weak. So fragile. So _vulnerable_.

"Mommy! I need to go to the bathroom!" Amaya said urgently.

I sighed. "Ikuto, can you watch Ichigo for me?" Ichigo came up and asked where we were going.

"We're going to the restrooms. Do you need to go?" I asked Ichigo.

"Nope," he said.

"Okay, stay here with Ikuto," I ordered.

"I'll watch him," Ikuto said. I nodded.

"Stay with Daddy?" Ichigo asked.

What?

"Daddy?" I asked. Ichigo nodded. "He's not your daddy," I stated. He giggled.

"I know, but you like him right? You could tell," he said. Ikuto looked horrified. I was so embarrassed. And I saw Amaya frowning in the corner.

"No, I don't," I said as calmly as I could.

"Yeah, that would be like cheating on Usui Takumi," my youngest daughter said. I want to strangle this girl, too. Wow. I'm having very strange urges to strangle everyone. I grabbed Amaya's wrist and marched her to the restrooms.

* * *

When I walked back, Ichigo and Ikuto both didn't notice us coming. Ichigo was talking to an older girl. He came back, his face proud.

"I did it!" he exclaimed. Ikuto gave him a high five.

"Did what?"

"Mimi here was teaching me how to hit on girls and stalk them," he said smiling, showing the whites of his teeth. What did he just say?

"… And what did you just say to that girl over there?"

"I told her she was hot…" he said. I could tell he didn't say all of it, but I was too angry to ask anything else.

"Ikuto, what were you thinking?" I asked angrily. He smirked. "He is FIVE! FIVE YEARS OLD! And you're teaching him what?"

"How to hit on girls… and how to be a good stalker," he said with a poker face. I grabbed my children's wrist and marched to the girl. Ikuto looked clueless.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Home."

"Why?" he whined.

"You are too much of a bad example on my children!" I said pointing a finger at him. He bit my finger. "Ow! What did you that for?" He smirked again.

"It's funny when Misa-chan acts all protective of her children," he said. Ugh. This guy is so aggravating.

"Stay away from me! Or I'll fire you from your job at the school!" I threatened. He chuckled.

"That won't keep me away from you," he said. "Besides, I'm your friend now right?" Is he serious? I just groaned.

"You're an idiot," I said.

"Thank you!" he said. "Come one get in," he said opening his car door. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"No thanks, I'll walk."

"But, mom! I'm tired. I wanna go in the car," Ichigo complained. The world hates me. Ichigo and Amaya hoped in the car. I folded my arms and glared at Ikuto. He opened the door for me and motioned me to get in. He smiled.

"Do you want to leave your kids with me? They're already in the car."

"I can report you to the police," I said stubbornly. He gave a wicked laugh. He grabbed my wrist and pinned me against the car. _Oh shit._ My kids are watching.

"That won't do anything. I'm a part of Usui's family. He's my cousin." My eyes widened. "You can't arrest someone from our family."

"Idiot."

He smiled knowing he won. "Now, Misaki, in the car, before I get the urge to do something with you. I have you in a perfect position." I pushed him away and got into the car. Why me? Why do I get perverted guys like him in my life? First, it was Usui, then Tora. Then, it was Jonathan (Suzana's husband), and now him. _Ugh._

* * *

_**A/n: Okay, I know this is a bit rushed, but I'll try to update soon. In fact, I'm going to try to update as much as I can before I go on vacation. **_

_**Hope you liked the chappie. Please review. As a wise girl once said: 'Reviews are love' 3 Okaaay, that's all for now! Ta-ta!**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Misaki's POV**

Yesterday, the whole ride back home, I gave Ikuto the silent treatment. He called me today, but I refused to pick up the phone.

Right now, I was eating dinner, completely exhausted of the day's events. I spent the whole day trying to find a babysitter for the kids. Kazumi really can't take care of herself and the twins. So I had to find one. But, none of the people I called were good enough. I groaned to myself. I needed one before tomorrow. My phone rang for the hundredth time. I already knew who it was: Ikuto. He's been trying to get me to talk to him all day long. Desperate, much?

"What do you want?" I groaned.

"Yay! You picked up!" he exclaimed. I rolled my eyes.

"Only because you called me a hundred times!" I said exasperated.

"…And you're talking to me too!"

"Okay, bye then," I said.

"Nooo, wait!" he said.

"What?" I asked.

"Sorry," he said. "Is that what you wanted me to say?"

"Swear to me that you'll never try to teach Ichigo how to stalk a person or how to hit on people."

"Okay, I swear," he said. I smiled.

"Great," I said. "Now, bye, I'm going to sleep."

"Wow. You're one lazy girl," he said.

"No, I'm not!" I protested. "Whatever, bye." Then I hung up. I made my way upstairs and to my room.

* * *

**Third Person POV**

While Misaki got ready for bed, halfway across the world in Japan, a cell phone rang. A brown-haired man picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Hinata Shintani."

"Who is this? How do you know my name?" Hinata asked the caller.

"You do not need to know that. You know Ayuzawa Misaki, yes?" the caller asked.

"Um, yeah," Hinata answered.

"You would like to know where she moved to, yes?" the caller asked.

"Yeah! You know?" Hinata asked excitedly. He didn't exactly trust this guy, but if he knew where Misaki was…

"Yes, I do. And I can tell you, if you do me a favor," the caller said.

"…And if I _can't_ do the favor for you?" Hinata asked nervously.

"I'm sure you will. Let me explain. There is this guy named Ikuto Takumi. He is your enemy. He is trying to take away _your_ Misaki. Got it?"

"What?"

"Yes, you love Misaki, do you not?" he said, without waiting for an answer, he continued, "Then try to get Ikuto away from her. That's all I want you to do."

"I can do that."

"Good good. She lives in Woodbridge, New Jersey. She works at John F. Kennedy High School. You'll be able to find her with that information. Good bye Hinata. I hope you don't fail my request. Otherwise… well, you don't want to know otherwise." The caller hung up. That sent shivers down Hinata's back. The tone of the threat seemed scary in its own creepy way. On the bright side, he finally found Misaki. It _had_ to be fate that he was told where Misaki lived. He had to go there now. Even if it meant to leave everything he had there in Japan. He absolutely _had _to show Misaki how much he loved her. Before he could regret his actions, he dialed a number.

"Hi, I need one plane ticket from Japan to New Jersey."

* * *

_**A/n: Yeah, I know it's short. Sorry about that. Do you like my twist? I'm sending Hinata Shintani there to sabotage Usui's plans. And what's with the mysterious person who's there to ruin Usui's life? I'll try to update tomorrow. I'm not sure if I can. But I'm trying to update as much as I can before I go on vacation this Saturday. **_

_**Anyways, pleaaaase review? Reviews are love, so review! Thanks. Ta-ta!**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Ikuto/ Takumi's POV**

I walked into my office and immediately spotted a pile of papers. I sighed. I sat down and went to work.

"Hi, Misaki," I heard Megan say. I walked out of my office to greet her.

"Hi, Ayuzawa," I said.

"Can you think of a name that won't get me irritated?" Misaki asked. I chuckled.

"Ayuzawa is your last name. What's wrong with it?" I asked before I could ask myself. I saw her wince. _Oops._ I shouldn't have asked that. God, I'm so stupid. If Ayuzawa is her surname, then it would remind her of her bastard of a father. _Shit_.

"I just don't like that name. I would appreciate it if you would call me Misaki," she said monotonously. With that, she stalked out of the main office and into her own office cubicle. I decided to give her some space and went to my office.

By the time she came out from lunch, I realized that she looked very sick. Misaki, Megan, and I were all eating in the lunch room. She looked pale and sick. Now that I think about it, she's looked like this for about three days. Hmmm, maybe I should've let her sleep on Saturday.

"You look sick. What happened?" I asked worriedly.

She looked up from her food, distracted. "Huh? What?"

"I asked what happened to you. You look sick and tired."

"Oh… really? Uhm, it's probably just stress," she said, distractedly.

I raised an eyebrow. "From what?"

"Tora…"

I sighed. I should have known.

* * *

**Misaki's POV**

Oh god. It's showing up again! This is bad. Thank goodness Megan or Ikuto doesn't suspect a thing. I don't want them to know. I don't want anyone to know. I don't want to look weak…

_Akane iro shita sora ga ochite  
Mou sorosoro kanashii kisetsu da ne  
Sonna hi no gogo  
Kimi to deatta hajimari kara  
Kiritotteku omoide ano toki wo modoshite_

I smiled, knowing that was the ring tone I specifically put for my best friend. Of course, the song is the one her famous fiancé sang.

"Hi Sakura!" I said cheerfully.

"Misaki!" my old friend Sakura exclaimed. "Guess what guess what guess what?"

I laughed. "What Sakura?"

"We're almost done with the tour! The last place we're going is New York City! Oh my god! You have to come, Misaki!" Sakura explained. Hmm, a lot has changed since I was there with her at Seika High. I remember the first time I saw her in America. She just totally freaked out.

* * *

_*Flashback*_

"Come on! Misaki, we have front row seats! Hurry up!" Megan complained. Front row seats? She never told me that. We hurried to the front row and took our seats. Too bad I was the one sitting next to a crazy fan of UxMishi. She was screaming the whole time and the concert didn't even start yet.

When UxMishi came onto the stage, the girl next to me went wild. Kuuga, the lead singer winked at her and she blushed. I giggled. She reminded me of Sakura.

"He's my boyfriend," she whispered to me.

"Really? That's cool," I said to her.

"Mhm! My name's Sakura Hanazono," she said turning to me.

"S-Sakura!" I exclaimed.

"A-are you… Misaki?" she asked.

I laughed. "Yeah, it's me Sakura," I said. She immediately hugged me so tight that I couldn't breathe. "S-Sakura! I c-can't breathe!" I managed to choke out. She let go.

She let go of me. "Omigosh. Sorry about that! It's just- oh I'm so glad to see you! I didn't see you in like forever! Omigosh Misaki! You grew taller. And Oh my gosh-,"

"Sakura!" I laughed. If I hadn't interrupted her, she would've gone on forever. "So, Kuuga is really your boyfriend now?"

"Yup!"

"Hmmm,"

"Aw, come on Misaki, don't tell me you still don't trust him!"

"I don't."

"But, really he's changed. He keeps me happy and I couldn't find any other person who loved me more than him!" she exclaimed brightly.

I laughed. "Well, okay then…"

"So who told you that I moved?" I asked.

She smiled. "Well, everyone in the school found out your little secret about you being a maid when Usui and these three other classmates-,"

"The moron trio?"

"Well, I guess. If that's what you call them. So apparently you worked there and the only person you told that you were moving was the manager," she said with a sad expression, "and the manager told Usui and the other three, since they were regular customers."

"Usui told everyone?"

"Well, he couldn't just say nothing!"

"Damn him." She smiled, but didn't say anything. She found out that we kissed after the UxMishi concert when we walked out of the building holding hands. I blushed deeply, thinking about that, but that didn't hide the feeling of loneliness, being without him.

* * *

_*Present Time*_

"So Misaki, you absolutely have to come to the concert. They're playing at Madison Square Gardens!"

"Sakura, I don't have any tickets," I said. "And I don't have money to buy it either. You know how stressed out I am about money- What?" I asked because she started to giggle.

"Check your mailbox when you get home 'kay?" she said, then continued without letting me say anything. "Okay, Misaki after the concert we finish our tour, and we have no plans so i suggested that we stay at your house for awhile! Can we, can we?" she pleaded.

"Sure, Sakura," i said giving in.

"Yay! Okay, I'll tell Kuuga and the others. Oh! And Misaki, we're getting married soon, remember I told you we were engaged? Yeah, we were engaged for about a year now because we never had the time for a wedding. We're having the wedding soon, but we don't know when. But I was thinking maybe you could be a bridesmaid and I really want you to, too! Yeah, so-,"

"Sakura!" I said laughing. "Okay, I get it. We'll talk later, okay? I'm at work right now."

"Oh, omigosh Im so sorry-," she began.

"It's okay. I'll call you after I get home. Okay?"

"Okay! Bye Misaki!" she said.

"Bye!" I said, then I hung up. Megan and Ikuto both raised their eyebrows.

"What was that about?" Ikuto asked.

"Oh, that was just my friend, Sakura," I said.

"Sakura? Hanazono?" he asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?" i asked.

"Oh, um, she's Kuuga's fiance, you know the guy from UxMishi," he said.

"Oh, yeah that's her," I said, still suspicious. It seemed for a second there that he knew her personally, somehow. He smiled.

"Anything wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said, while standing up. I threw my lunch in the garbage and walked out of the room. I can't get out that feeling that Ikuto seems so familiar in some way.

* * *

I retired to doing the load of work Tora sent me to do, after I got home that day. _**(A/n: Oh god I really need to find out what principals do as their job...)**_ I really had a busy day doing a load of paperwork, shifts at the restaurant, cooking, and trying to find a babysitter to take care of the kids, so I can actually work in peace, not worrying about what damage they're doing at home.

_Hello Seattle, I am a mountaineer_

_In the hills and highlands_

_I fall asleep in hospital parking lots_

_And awake in your mouth_

_**[A/n: I find that song really wierd ;)] **_"Mmm, hello?" I said absent mindedly.

"Hi! I saw your poster about needing a babysitter," a voice said.

I frowned. "Oh really? Are you a guy? I didn't know guys babysitted." _**(a/n: lol.)**_

"Well, I really needed a job," he said.

"Oh, do you have any experience?" I asked.

"Not really, but I have took care of my cousins before..."

"When are you available?" I asked.

"I don't have a job. I can come anytime," he said.

"Alright, I really need someone right now, so I guess you'll do. Can you come tomorrow at 4:00 so I can see whether the kids like you?"

"Sure!"

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Hinata," he said.

"...Hinata?" I asked. "Um, what's your last name?"

"Shintani," he said. Oh god.

"...Hinata..."

"... Anything wrong?" he asked.

"No, nothing. My address is 11 Foofie Road (a/n: I don't know where that came from...). I'll see you tomorrow." Then I hung up. I decided not to tell him it's me. He'll find out soon anyway.

There's something bothering me though... Maybe it's that Tora and Hinata showed up at the same time. Suspicious... (a/n: And Usui Takumi, but you don't know that ;D)

* * *

_**A/n: Okay, sorry I didn't update in a long time. It's really hard to get on a computer here... I'll try to update sooner but I really don't know...Anyway, review for me 'kay? So I know that people are actually reading it. Ta-ta!**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Ikuto/ Takumi's POV**

Misaki opened the front door to her house. "Hi, Ayuzawa, let's go to work now."

She scowled. "How many times have I told you not to pick me up? I'm totally capable of getting to the restaurant by myself," she said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Just come in and _don't _bother me," she said, opening the door a little further so I could walk in.

"How'd the meeting with Tora go?" I asked. She had another meeting today after-school and I wasn't allowed to go.

She sighed. "He's not approving any of my ideas to make the school better. He says it's a waste of money," she reported. "The one thing that I really needed him to approve is the renovation of the cafeteria. It's in terrible shape," she complained.

"He's probably just trying to make your life miserable," I said.

"Yeah, but it affects him, too. Have you _seen_ the cafeteria? It's a horrid sight! I doubt anyone could eat in it. We've made improvements for the school since the time it was constructed, but the cafeteria is the only thing that we didn't renovate," she said. She sighed. "But he's right. We don't have the money…," she said. "Ikuto? I interview the new babysitter right now. He'll be here any minute. Then we could go."

"Alright," I said. I sat down on a sofa.

"Mimi!" I heard a voice. I turned towards the direction of the voice. Ichigo was standing on the stairs. He started to walk towards me.

"Hey, strawberry," I teased.

"Strawberry?" he asked, confused. Maya came rushing down the stairs.

"Yeah, Ichigo means strawberry in Japanese," I said. Maya bursted into a fit of laughter.

"His name… strawberry… haha…," she said in-between her laughing. Just then, the doorbell rang. I'm guessing that was the babysitter. Misaki opened the door and I heard voices and then they came into the living room where I was sitting with Maya and Ichigo.

"So, who's that?" the guy, with an all too familiar voice, asked.

"That's the vice-principal at my school and the cook at a restaurant I work at," Misaki said. "His name is Ikuto."

"Oh…"

"Ikuto, this is the new babysitter Hinata Shintani," she said to me.

_No way. _"You've already decided that this guy is the new babysitter?" I asked a bit too rudely.

Her face brightened. "Yep. This is my old childhood friend. I trust him more than anyone else in the world," she said. _Ouch. _More than anyone, huh?

"Childhood friend? _Just _a childhood friend?" I inquired. Okay, maybe I'm acting a bit paranoid , but hey, I hate this Shintani dude.

"Well, um… yeah," she said uneasily. I swear I saw her blush. I shouldn't have even asked. That was enough. I stood up abruptly.

"Nice meeting you, Shintani. I'll be waiting in the car, Misaki," I said harshly. I brushed past them and made my way to my car, leaving behind a quite baffled Misaki.

* * *

_**A/n: Okay so you got to see Takumi's reaction of the new babysitter :D Sorry it's short. I'll try to put the next chptr today also. Can you guys please do me a favor? Can you go on my profile and do the poll there? Pretty pwease? Thank yoouuu! And make sure you review! 3 Smitha**_


	13. Chapter 13

**Ikuto/ Takumi's POV**

I sat in the car and waited for Misaki to come out. It didn't take long, she was out in about two minutes. Once she got in, I started driving.

"What was that about, back there?" Misaki asked, annoyance seeping into her voice.

"Stay away from him," I said before thinking.

"What?"

"I- he just seemed- well…" I was at a loss for words. "Just forget it." She eyed me suspiciously and then stared out the window.

"Is he really just a childhood friend?" I asked. I was dying to know.

"We dated. For less than a week, though. We went back to being friends after that…" she said. "But I remember… Hinata came back when I was in Seika High in Japan. He said that I was his first love, stuff like that…" she started blushing, "Usui got jealous… But he should've knew, he should've knew that I didn't like Hinata in that way. Not really…"

"Not _really_?" I asked. I realized I was gripping the steering wheel a bit tight. I saw Misaki put her legs up and hug her knees. She looked like a little kid. A cute, adorable little kid.

"I don't know… I'm confused… When I saw Hinata come inside the house… for the first time in _years_… my heart just…," Misaki said. I saw her eyes water but she didn't dare cry. "But then I think of Usui Takumi… I don't know what to do…"

"You have feelings for both of them," I said, my voice deadpanned.

"No, I can't-that's not… right," she said. I sighed and pulled up at the restaurant parking lot.

"But you do. It's obvious if you're talking like that," I said.

"What if I do?" she asked. "What if I do like Hinata?"

I looked away. "I don't know…" This is pretty painful. Now I can't tell her it's me. That would be _more _painful. Watching her pick between us. "Ask him out."

Her eyes widen."What? No."

"Why not?" I asked annoyed.

"I won't be able to get Takumi out of my head. I'll always love him more than anyone else…" she said, though the last part she said a bit quietly. I smirked. She sniffled, even though she wasn't crying. She looked up and stared off into space. "I can't get the feeling out of my head that he might've forgotten about me a long time ago." My heart sunk. Did she really think that? That I forgot about her? No way in hell would I forget about her. Never.

She looked at me and smiled. "It's funny how I already trust you so much. I wouldn't just tell anyone this stuff out of my own free will," she said. No, I know for a fact she wouldn't. "Let's go, we're already late."

"Sorry we're late!" Misaki said as she rushed into the break room. Everyone was gathered around. Probably a meeting.

"Nice of you two to join us today," Sitwat said, politely.

"Sorry," I mumbled. Her smile was frightening.

"We were just talking about who's coming to the work trip and who's not," she said filling us in. "Are you going Ikuto?"

"Yeah."

"Are you coming Misaki?"

"Well, you see… I _was _planning to go with my three kids… But, you see I'm having about 5 guests coming over," she said.

"Five?" one of the waiters asked.

"Yeah, you see, it's a band and the lead singer's fiancé is one of my best friends and the other band member's girlfriend might come too so, I probably won't be able to come with all those people…"

"A band? They could come, too! And it would be great if they could perform at my sister's restaurant!" Sitwat said.

"…I'll ask them," she said.

"Okay!" she exclaimed. "I've decided that since it's going to be a work trip, I also wanted us to have some fun! So, we're having a competition between the employees."

"What do you mean?" one of the cooks asked.

"You're going to be place in pairs and each pair will compete the other pairs. Each day will have a different type of competition. Mostly, the customers will pick who wins each day," she said. Then she saw the quizzical looks on people's faces and continued, "For example, on one of the days we'll have a karaoke competition. Everyone will sing a song, then the customers will vote which pair they like the best."

"If you're bringing your family they can participate in the competition, too. As long as they're older than 18. Oh! And I get to pick the pairs!" she exclaimed. "Okay, that's all for now! Chop chop! The customers will be here any minute now!"

* * *

**Misaki's POV**

After I finished my shift, I went to call Sakura.

"Hi, Misaki! The concert is on Friday, you got the tickets right?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, I did. You gave me five tickets. It's only me and the three kids," I said.

"Bring a friend! Duh!" she said.

"Ok…Um wait how long are you going to stay?" I asked.

"Why? Is it a problem if we stay long?" she asked, worriedly.

"No, no! It's just I'm going on a work trip from October 25 to November 2. I was thinking it would be great if you and the band could come. The manager would like it if UxMishi performed, though," I told her.

"Wait one second," Sakura said. I heard her talking to the others. "It's okay with the band. But are you sure you want us to stay that long? We're coming right after the concert. That means we'll stay for two weeks."

"It's perfectly fine, Sakura," I said. "So, when's the wedding?" I asked.

"Sometime maybe in late November or early December. But I think it should be in January…" she said. "I've decided you're going to be the bridesmaid. Is that okay with you?"

"I would love to be the bridesmaid," I told her.

"Great! Then we'll plan the wedding while we're at your house okay?" she asked.

"Alright, Sakura," I said.

"Omigosh Misaki! You'll never guess who I've got for the other bridesmaid," she gushed.

"Who?"

"Shizuko!"

"Eh? That's great!" I exclaimed.

"Mhm. Hey, I have to go, Misaki. See you on Saturday 'kay?" she asked.

"Okay, bye," I said.

"Bye!" I disconnected the call. I put my cell phone away and jumped when I saw that Ikuto had been standing right behind me for who knows how long.

"How long where you there?" I asked curiously.

"Since the second you said hi to Sakura on the phone," he answered. He chuckled. "I can't believe you didn't notice." Sitwat walked in that moment so I didn't bother saying anything back to him.

"Sitwat, I'm coming, but there are eight people coming with me," I reported.

"That's fine. We'll be renting a van for the ride there to New York. It takes about four hours to go there. Oh and Misaki… your partner will have to come in the van, too. So, you'll be fitting ten people all together."

"Who's my partner?"

She smiled mysteriously. "You'll find that out on the day we leave. On October 25, everyone will have to be at Strawberry Skies at 11 am. And then we'll all leave at the same time to my sister's restaurant."

"Okay, I'm going home now. Bye, Sitwat!" I said to her.

"Bye," she said back to me.

* * *

_**A/n: **__**Okay, so I'm thinking about Misaki's partner be Hinata or Ikuto. I'll let ya'll choose. So leave it in the reviews! **_

_**Sorry, this chapter doesn't really have that much… excitement. It's a filler chapter because I'm kind of stalling for the main events. Yeah, sorry I'll make it more interesting in the next chapter I promise… Hopefully I can.**_

_**Okay! So I have a favor to ask of you! Can you go on my profile and take the poll there? Please? Thanks! **_

_**I have a question for you: Would rather have a chocolate chip cookie or a brownie? Sorry for my randomness. Just wondering… Leave it in the reviews!**_

_**So… REVIEW FOR ME 'KAY? Yeah, thanks to all the wonderful people out there who subscribed, reviewed, and favorite my story! I love you! Not in that way… o_O Teehee.**_

_**Oh, yes… THANK YOU damons-hot-as-hell FOR REVIEWING IN ALMOST EVERY CHAPTER! :D**_

_**Okay, ta-ta! That was a long author's note…**_


	14. Chapter 14

**_A/n: Okay, so I'm so sorry I didn't update in a long time! My parents have been taking me to some random place _every single day _so I couldn't get on a computer… And I can't update until the 23__rd__ because I'm going on the plane tomorrow and we stay at our destination for five days and wait for our connecting flight and there's no internet connection there so I won't be able to update, but I promise I'll be at least typing the next chapters so I'll update as soon as I get home :D Well, here's chapter 14 for you!_**

_**Oh, and just so you know I changed the first name/ last name issue. Now, Ikuto's last name is Usui. **_

* * *

**Misaki's POV**

Ikuto dropped me off at me off at my house after my shift at Strawberry Skies. As I was getting out of his car, I looked at him and it struck me how strikingly similar he looked like Usui Takumi. And… his last name was Usui, too.

"Um, can I ask you a question?" I asked timidly, standing outside of his black SUV.

"Sure," Ikuto answered.

"Do you know Takumi Usui?" I asked. Then I rushed on for an explanation, so I didn't seem stupid, "Because whenever I talk about him, you always seem to know what I'm talking about. Almost as if you've already heard whatever I was telling you. And your last name is the same as his…"

"Yeah, I know him. He's my cousin," he said looking straight ahead. He looked at me. "I'm part of the Walker family. I'm born just a few days after him. And he does tell me a lot about you. Not anymore though…"

"Not anymore?"

"He stopped talking to me altogether when he entered his third year of highschool," he said nonchalantly.

_The year after I left him…_

"W-why?" I asked.

"I don't know. He disappeared," he said.

"Dissapeared?" I asked, uncertainly.

"Yes," he said.

* * *

**Ikuto/ Takumi's POV**

It was partly true. I didn't change my name when I moved to America. I changed it right after Misaki left me. I was in such a deep depression and I was so angry that I changed myself completely. I changed my name and my behavior completely. I wasn't the old Takumi anymore. I wasn't my arrogant perverted self. I became Ikuto. That's why even now, I'm not as perverted as I once used to be. But, Misaki's slowly changing me back… Back to who I was.

"Can I ask _you _a question, Miss Ayuzawa?" I asked.

"Um, okay?"

"I heard you left Japan suddenly in high school," I said. "Why?"

She looked at me with such sadness and regret, that I could've melted right there. "I can't tell you," she whispered. She straightened up, her face stone-faced. "I'm sorry. But I can't."

"Oh," I said. I studied her critically. _Why would she leave?_

"Would you like to come in and have dinner with us?" she asked, politely.

"Um, if it's okay with you," I said. I've been eating out ever since I came here. I have to go shopping, soon.

"It's alright," she said. I smiled and turned the engine off. I got out of the car and realized something.

"You're cooking?" I asked her. I had no problem waiting for the food to be ready, but her cooking…

"Why? What's wrong with me cooking?" she asked.

I looked at her and found myself getting lost I those amber eyes of hers. I looked away and said, "Takumi says you're cooking is terrible."

"What did he say now?" she asked, peeved. I smirked. It's amusing how she gets mad so easily.

"If I ever find him, I will make him eat my cooking for a month nonstop!" she said. _We'll see about that. _Then she grumbled, "I'm not cooking. Hinata should've made the food. It's part of his job."

My stomach clenched. "How much do you pay him for him to that?"

"Enough. He's actually staying at my house until he finds a place to live," she said.

What? "He's staying at your house? What if… he does something to you?" I asked, completely convinced he had something planned.

She frowned. "He won't. I trust him."

We had reached her front door, and Misaki started to dig in her bag for the keys.

The door opened from the inside. "Misaki! You're home!" exclaimed Hinata.

"Hinata… hi," she said.

"Oh, Ikuto! You're here, too!" he exclaimed.

I nodded grimly. Hinata stepped aside to let us in. Misaki went ahead to the kitchen, but I stayed and whispered in Hinata's ear, "Misaki's already seeing someone. So, don't you dare try anything." So what if I lied? I wasn't here to let him ruin my plans.

I walked past him and went to the kitchen where Misaki was. I heard Hinata behind me going upstairs to call the kids.

"Hi, Ayuzawa," I whispered huskily into Misaki's ear from behind.

She jumped and fuming, she scolded, "Don't ever do that again!"

"Do what?" I asked innocently, but a grin was on my face.

"Sneak up behind me and…," she said. I smirked.

"You're a really interesting girl, you know. I could tell why Takumi fell for you," I said, just to see her reaction.

"And why is that?" she asked facing me, her hands on her hips.

"Because you never failed to amuse him," I said.

"Hm, and that's all?" she asked. She turned away, muttering, "He was a stupid, perverted _player_. I hate him… such an idiot…"

I smiled. I grabbed her hand and pinned her against the refrigerator. Her cheeks colored.

"Of course that wasn't the only reason. Anyone would fall for you. Your beautiful, you always have ways of making someone smile, your reactions to everything are always so cute…," I said, looking into her eyes. I let my free hand touch her in places that I shouldn't have touched.

Someone cleared their throat. _That's probably Hinata_, I thought. I didn't turn away, I kept myself in that position against Misaki.

"Can you please step away from my mom?" a small little voice asked, politely, but with enough calmness to scare someone. I immediately let go of Misaki and looked behind me, scared of who I thought it was. My doubts were confirmed. _Maya._

"Thank you," she said, calmly. "I would very much appreciate it if you wouldn't put my mom in that kind of position again. In fact, I suggest you stay away from her, permanently."

Her brother just stood there beside Maya holding her hand tightly, looking frightened. I couldn't tell if he was frightened by what he just saw, or by Amaya. Because Amaya was kind of scaring me. _You're an idiot_, I scolded myself, _for a five year old to scare you_.

She turned away and said, "If I catch you harassing my mother one more time, I _will_ call the police."

"I'm part of the Walker family. Polices aren't exactly enough," I said. I don't know what I was thinking. I should've tried to explain how I wasn't really _meaning_ to harass her, but I said this instead.

She looked at me and smiled sweetly. She would've looked cute, too, if it wasn't for the fury in her eyes. "This is the U.S., dear. It doesn't matter what _class _you're in," she said, with pure venom in her voice. "You're in this country and if you sexually harass someone it's against the law. It doesn't matter where you're from or who you are."

"Dinner's in the dining room," Hinata's voice came from behind Amaya.

"Yes, let's eat now. Shall we?" I heard Misaki say behind me. I turned to look at her. She smiled weakly and headed out of the kitchen to the dining room.

We ate dinner quietly. The only one who didn't know what happened in the kitchen earlier was Kazumi. But I guessed she would hear about it later. Misaki finished her dinner quickly, but I noticed she didn't eat much. Actually, that would be an understatement. She barely touched her food. She said she was going to sleep and that she'll me tomorrow at school. Then she bid everyone a good night and started for the stairs.

"Ikuto," Misaki said, stopping on the stairs, her back to me.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"There'll be no need for you to pick me up tomorrow morning. I can get to the school on my own," she said. I've made a habit of picking her up in the mornings. I sighed.

"Alright. I'll see you at work," I said. I saw Hinata smile, particularly an evil smile- at me. He stood up, rushed to the stairs, and kissed Misaki's forehead. My fist clenched involuntarily.

"Good night, Misaki," he said so sweetly, it made me want to throw up. Misaki stood there like there was an argument going on inside her head. Then she smiled up at Hinata and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Good night, Hinata," she said softly. Then she turned and ran up the stairs, to her bedroom. My heart shattered right then and there. I hadn't even felt this heartbroken when she left me, because I still had hope. Now it was gone…

Hinata climbed down the stairs wearing a triumphant smile on his face. I glared at him with utmost hatred. If looks could kill, the glare I gave him would've burned him to ashes.

"I'm, uh, going to go to sleep! Good night, everyone!" Ichigo said, trembling. He ran upstairs.

"Hey! Strawberry head, come back!" Maya shouted as she ran after him. She ran past Hinata, and then turned back gave me an annoyed look and ran up the stairs after Ichigo.

Kazumi smiled, evidently amused. "I think… I'll watch this," she said. Hinata started to say something, but I didn't give a shit. I lunged for him, but he ducked.

"How… dare…you," I said, gritting my teeth while fighting him.

"She's not yours anymore- _Takumi_," he said. I aimed a kick at his face, but he dodged it and punched me in the arm. "I don't want to fight you Takumi, but this is self defense. Because sooner or later, I know you will try to kill me."

"Shintani… I hate you!" I grumbled. He tried to kick me, but I caught his leg and flipped him over. He tried to wrestle me, but it was useless. I had calmed myself down, so I could concentrate on the fight, not the way Misaki had just kissed Hinata a few moments ago. I was just so much better, when I didn't let my anger get in the way.

He was on the floor with me above him. I punched his face, knocking out his teeth. He punched my stomach, causing me to get off guard. He pushed me off him. I gritted my teeth and stood up before he could attack while I was on the floor.

I was only a few feet away from the dinner table. My eye caught a kitchen knife on the table. I don't know why it was there, but I grabbed it and attacked Hinata. I cut his arm very deeply before he pushed me to the ground. He advanced on me, like a growling dog. I kicked him in his private spot and he doubled over with pain. I grabbed Hinata and placed the knife on his throat, daring him to make a move.

Before I could hurt Hinata further, Kazumi said quietly, "Takumi Usui, Misaki will never forgive you, regardless of whether or not you're Ikuto or Takumi, if you hurt Hinata."

I let go of Hinata, knowing that she was right. I looked at Kazumi. She looked at me and there was something in her eyes that I regretted seeing. I couldn't quite place what it was and then I realized- disappointment. I over-reacted.

I lowered my eyes. I had gone so low, too low. I was disgusted with myself. I just couldn't help myself. I looked up at the stairs, hoping that Misaki was not there.

I was staring into the blue eyes of Maya. She just stood there, awestruck, which confirmed my fears. She had just seen the whole fight. I hung my head. I stared down at the beautiful furnished marble floor, my hair hiding my face.

"I'm sorry. All of you, I'm sorry," I told them. "Thanks for dinner. I'm going now."

Avoiding eye contact, I made my way to the door and left the house.

* * *

**Amaya's POV**

He's a criminal. Like my father. A criminal. From sexually harassing my mother to getting into a terrible fight with my babysitter… I ran to my room and told my brother what I just saw. He listened intently, wide-eyed until I was done explaining.

"We have to tell Misaki. She could fire him. So she'll never see him again," I said to Ichigo.

He shook his head. "No. Hinata will tell her, if he chooses to. Even if Misaki fires him, they still have the same part-time job."

"But, Ichigo. He's so evil. He's a criminal," I said.

"Just forget what you saw. Misaki and Hinata will handle it," he said. He turned off the lamp next to our bed and turned and kissed my forehead. "Good night, Amaya," he said softly.

"Good night," I whispered back. But, I wasn't so sure this night was exactly 'good'.

* * *

_**A/n: Okay, please don't kill me! I really do like making Usui suffer, though. Seriously, the idea of making Usui do this just came totally out of nowhere. Don't worry, he'll gain the kids' trust back... sooner or later. **_

_**Next chapter, I'm going to make the first 'horror' I was talking about happen to Misaki. You know, the letter that Tora gave to Usui. Yeah, something bad's going to happen in the next chapter XD Sorry, I've been in a pretty bad mood lately and I just wanted to make my characters suffer...**_

_**Yeah, so tell me what you think in the reviews! I'll update as soon as I can. Sayonara!**_


	15. Chapter 15

**Misaki's POV**

I kissed both Amaya and Ichigo's forehead.

"Bye! Have fun on your field trip!" I said cheerfully. Their kindergarten class was going on an 'educational' field trip to a zoo to study the animals.

"Bye, mommy!" they said together.

"Good luck," Ichigo started.

"At work today!" Amaya finished. I chuckled remembering a Japanese anime that I used to watch; the Hitachiin twins from Ouran High School Host Club. I watched Amaya and Ichigo walk inside the school and then I told the taxi driver to take me to JFK.

Yeah, I don't have a car. Well, I _did._ I gave it to Suzuna when she was still alive. I figured she needed it more, since she had a full family- unlike me. But after she died, her husband figured he'd have some fun and crashed the car. He was lucky he was in prison, otherwise I would be there to give him a lesson…

I kept thinking back to what happened yesterday night. I didn't want to think about it, but it kept coming back to me. I knew exactly what I was thinking when I kissed Hinata. That I need to get over Usui. I hate to admit it, but I always had a sliver of hope that her would come looking for me. He probably did that to a lot of girls. Made them fall for him. I hated him for making me like this. And so I kissed Hinata. Because I needed to get over Usui. But it makes me feel worse. It makes me feel _guilty. _

I groaned in my mind. _Fuck you, Takumi._

The driver cleared his throat. "Um, we're here, ma'am," he informed.

I blinked. "Oh, sorry." I thanked him and paid for the ride, then went inside the school building. I noticed some trucks parked outside the front. Wonder why they're there…

Inside, I noticed a worker milling about.

"Um, hi," I addressed him. "… What are you doing here?" Hey, I _tried_ to put it the nicest way I could.

He smiled. "Hi, I'm Will. We're renovating the cafeteria here… Um, who are you exactly?" he asked friendly.

"I'm the principal, Misaki Ayuzawa," I said. "I'll leave you to your work. If you'll excuse me," I said.

"Okay! Have a nice day," he said.

"You too," I said walking away to the office.

"Hi, Misaki. Ikuto is in his office, if you need him," Megan said without looking up.

"Uhm, okay, thanks," I said.

I walked into my office and dropped my stuff there. Then, I walked into Ikuto's room and closed the door.

"Misaki," he said simply. He looked up and smiled, his eyes saying an apology. I stared at him, surprised and completely speechless.

He was wearing his glasses. His emerald green eyes staring through his glasses into my gold hazel ones. He had brown eyes, didn't he? No, those were contacts. His eyes were exactly like Takumi's. I was mesmerized. They were warm and had that hint of amusement and mischief and so… beautiful. That snapped me back to my senses. I was _not_ supposed to be thinking like that.

"What happened yesterday after I went to my room?" I demanded. I heard a commotion happening downstairs after I went to my bedroom, but I didn't go down to check.

His face showed an expression of what I guessed was shame. He looked down.

"Well… I sort of… got into a fight with Hinata," he admitted sheepishly. I knew from the commotion downstairs that the fight was not the argument type of fight.

My eyes narrowed. "What? Did you hurt him?"

"Um… yeah, a little," he said, truthfully.

He looked up and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. Then, he abruptly took off his glasses and stood up.

"Misaki, look, I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday-,"

"What was the fight about?" I interrupted.

"It was about- about you," he answered.

"What do you mean about me?" I asked.

"It just had something to do with you," he said simply. "Misaki, I was just trying to protect you."

"Protect me from what?" I asked, annoyed. I didn't need protecting. I could protect myself.

"Protect you from being with people you shouldn't be with," he said, raising his voice.

"You mean Hinata?" I asked incredulously.

"Why in the world did you kiss him?" he asked.

"I can kiss whoever I want and I can be with whoever I want. It's my choice and none of your business! Why do you even care?" I yelled. I coughed into my hand. I snuck a look at my hand and saw blood. _Shit._

I marched to the door, hiding my hand, and swung open the door.

"What happened to Usui Takumi?" he asked.

I stopped in the doorway and with my back to him. I said, "I have to get over him. I admit that I thought he would come for me. But I was stupid and selfish. If he loved me, then he would've been here by now. But he's not. Now, he's just a happy memory that happened in a different life. He's gone and for right now, I hate him." With those words, I stalked out of the room, slamming the door in the process.

_I hate him for making me fall for him._

* * *

**Ikuto/ Takumi's POV**

I heard absolutely no sadness, heartbreak, or betrayal, just bitterness and hatred.

She's over me and she hates me. She doesn't want me in her life.

How can she think like that?

And suddenly, I'm mad because she's the one who left. I loved her and she knew it. Then why did she leave? Without even telling me she was moving?

I sighed. I have to forget about her. I have to let her go.

'_If you love love someone, let them go. If they return to you, it was meant to be. If they don't, their love was never yours to begin with.'_

She hates me and she doesn't want me in her life…

* * *

**Misaki's POV**

I told Megan everything that happened to me from yesterday to today. She comforted me and then helped me with the issues of the renovation that was happening in the cafeteria.

I heard the door open and I looked up to see Ikuto standing there. His glasses were not there, but his brown colored contacts were back on.

"Usui," I heard Megan say beside me. Her voice was cold and I noticed she said his last name, instead of Ikuto.

He gave us a weak smile. "Misaki, just to let you know I have the renovation under control. You don't need to worry about it," he reported.

"Um, okay, thanks," I mumbled.

He continued, "There are the students who are making a big deal about having a Strings Club. But we don't have a teacher to watch over the club. So, I'm going to leave that issue to you."

"Okay, is that all?" I asked.

He nodded. He started to walk to the door of my office. He stopped when my phone rang. I took the phone from my desk and answered it.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hello, is this Misaki Ayuzawa?" a woman asked, barely succeeding in hiding in keeping the panic away from her voice.

Megan kept gesturing for me to put the phone on speaker.

I put it on speaker and said, "Yes, this is Misaki. Who's this?"

"Oh, thank goodness, the office gave me the right phone number!" she said to herself. "Anyway, Misaki, we have a problem here-,"

"Can it wait? I have to go on my lunch break right now," I asked politely.

"No, Ms. Ayuzawa. This is an emergency," she said.

I frowned. "Go on."

"This is Amaya and Ichigo's teacher," she started. _What? Why is she calling? _"You're kids are missing. We've been at the zoo for four hours. You're kids have been missing for two. We've been searching since we realized they were gone. The police have been searching for awhile now, but they're nowhere to found," she explained in a rushed voice.

"I'm coming to the zoo," I said and then hung up. I grabbed my phone and my purse and ran out of my office.

"Megan, I'll go with her. You stay here at the school and keep an eye on things," Ikuto said.

Megan looked skeptical, but she said. "Okay, I'll stay here and take care of things at the school. You go on."

I don't know why she agreed to staying at the school and leaving me with Ikuto, but I didn't have much time to think about it because Ikuto grabbed my hand and ran while saying, "Come one Misa-chan we'll find your kids."

* * *

_**A/n: They might not find them because I'm in the mood to make my characters die. xD **_

_**Anyway, I'm sorry I know I told you I would update yesterday, but I was hanging out with my friends so, yeah… And yeah, I know this is short. Sorry :)**_

_**Review! Pweaseeeee?**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Misaki's POV**

"They were right here one minute and then when I counted the kids to make sure everyone was there… they were gone!" the teacher explained worriedly to Ikuto and me.

"Was there anyone near you around the time they went missing?" Iktuo inquired.

"Not that I know of, no," she said shaking her head.

Ikuto grabbed my wrist and dragged me away to search for the twins. He dropped my wrist and started to search frantically for them. I walked along with him, looking for any signs of my beloved children.

It was sunset and we had searched almost every exhibit at least twice when Ikuto stopped abruptly and turned to face me.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. I looked down at the ground. "My bad, that was a stupid question," he said. He came closer to me and took my hands in both of his and lifted my chin up, forcing me to look into his eyes. "We'll find them, I promise," he said, confidently.

I was trembling. "What if we don't?" I whispered. He pulled me in for a hug, his head resting on top of mine. I buried my head in his chest, smelling in his scent, despite the fact that my cheeks were burning red and that voice in my head telling me to tell him to stop it. He smelled so damn good. He rubbed my back.

"We _will_ find them, don't worry," he said. He released me and held my hand. He squeezed it for support. Together, we walked back to the teacher. The other kids were picked up by their parents/guardians immediately after they found that Amaya and Ichigo were missing. We found a bunch of police men there.

"We searched the whole zoo and they're nowhere to be found. We evacuated everyone and searched for them, but there's no trace of your children. We think… we think that they were kidnapped and the kidnapper escaped we realized they were missing and before we strengthened the security at the front of the zoo," a police reported. Ikuto squeezed my hand once more in reassurance and I held onto it tightly. I was glad he was there to comfort me… if he wasn't well, I would've already broken down by now.

"Well, it's getting late and the zoo is closing…," the officer trailed off nervously.

"I'll take her home," Ikuto said, solemnly. The officer looked at me for reassurance that it was okay for him to take me home.

"It's okay," I said, sincerely. "He's a good friend."

"Friend?" the officer asked, a smile playing on his lips. I realized that he was eyeing our hands, which I was squeezing pretty tightly. I looked down and blushed.

"Please tell me if you find any information of the whereabouts of my children," I said. The police nodded and Ikuto ushered me to his car and started driving.

He glanced at me and reached for my hand. "Two hands on the wheel, Ikuto," I said, sternly. He withdrew his hand, smiling faintly. His phone rang and he answered the phone, putting it on the speaker.

"Do you follow any of the driving safety laws," I muttered

He grinned at me and to the caller, he said, "Hi who's this?"

"Who's _this_?" the caller asked. Ikuto and I exchanged worried glances.

"Ikuto Usui," he answered nevertheless.

"Ah, is Ayuzawa Misaki there?" the caller asked.

"Uh, yeah, do you want to talk to her?" Ikuto asked.

"No, no. Put it on speaker and both of you listen," he said. I stared at the phone. We heard a laugh that was too evil to be normal.

"Misaki and Usui!" another voice exclaimed. _What is with people calling him by his last name?" _What a pleasureit is talking to you!" the new voice said.

"What do you want?" Ikuto asked, rudely. The voice asked.

"Oooooh. Someone's in a bad mood today," he teased. Silence between me and Ikuto.

"Just get to the point," the first man who talked to us said.

Man #2 sighed. "You guys are boring," he pouted, childishly.

"Who _is _this?" I asked.

"Ah, Misaki, now you don't need to know that," Man# 2 said.

"Then what do you want from us? We're going to hang up," I said, annoyed. I reached for the button that ends the call.

Man #2 snorted. "You can hang up if you want. Suit yourself. We just had wanted to give you some information."

I hesitated. "What kind of information?"

"Ah, now we're talking," Man #2 said, laughing. Then he stopped laughing and in a serious tone he said, "We have the kids…"

"Hmmm, what's their name? Oh yes! Amaya and Ichigo!" he said snapping his fingers. My heart stopped.

"What?" I said unsurely.

"Get to the point, Fred!" Man #1 yelled.

"Yes, yes," Man #2- er, Fred- said happily, ignoring the other man. "We have them."

"That's it! I'm talking from now on," Man #1 said, angrily.

"Awww, no, Jake!" Fred wailed. "This is fun!" We heard some commotion and then Jake said, "Okay, just ignore him," he said. Fred was crying and whining in the background.

Jake informed, "We have Maya and Ichigo. Come to the creek at 2:00 a.m. in Merrill Park tomorrow tonight- er- morning (whatever) with $500 thousand dollars and we'll give them back to you unharmed-,"

"Ha! Neither of you have that kind of money! I really do wonder what you're going to do," Fred interrupted.

"_Anyway_," Jake continued. "If you don't have the money, they're dead…," he said and paused, as if thinking and then, "Don't bother bringing the police. If you do, you're kids are dead and we'll get arrested."

"But there's no use in arresting because we'll escape anyway!" Fred said. "So there's no use."

"That's all, goodbye," Jake said, monotonously. They hung up. Ikuto bit his lip.

"I'm financially broke! I don't have _one _thousand dollars, never mind five hundred!" I exclaimed sobbing.

Ikuto stopped the car in front of my house and reached over and hugged me.

"We'll figure something out," he whispered in my ear. "I promise."

* * *

_**A/n: Sorry it's short, but I didn't really have any ideas and anything that happens next is supposed to be in the next chapter. I'll update tomorrow or the day after! Depends on how long it takes me to type it :)**_

_**Review please! Reviews are love! 3**_

_**~Smitha**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**A/n: Sorry, I know I said that I would update earlier… I really do like to put things off a lot… Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter… you probably won't though, just a warning.**_

* * *

**CHAPTER 17**

**Ikuto/ Takumi's POV**

"No, Misaki! I'll go tonight. Those people might be dangerous!" I argued. We've been arguing like this for awhile in front of the door to her house.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah. They sure seemed dangerous to me," she said sarcastically.

"Ugh! You never know!" I said, irritated.

"Ikuto, those are _my _kids, I have every right-," she started.

"I know! But I don't want anything to happen to you," I said.

He eyes flared. "I can defend myself! Are you implying that I'm weak and unable to defend myself?!" she asked, incredulously. I hesitated. Well…

"Every time you do something reckless, you always end up…," I trialed off.

"No, Ikuto, I'm going… without you," she said.

I sighed in exasperation. "Misaki, I'll go and beat the crap out of the kidnappers and come back with Maya and Ichigo," I said.

"What if it's because of you that they die! Huh? How am I ever supposed to forgive you?" she yelled. The front door opened behind her.

"Kazumi told me that she thought she heard someone outside…" Hinata said. "What are you doing?" he asked, pointedly at me.

"Ikuto, I'll see you at work tomorrow," she said. She said it casual enough, but I got the message: I'm going alone, do not come.

I snorted. It's not like I'm going to listen to her.

"What took you so long to come home?" I heard Hinata say as I walked back to my car.

"Just extra work at the school," Misaki lied. I smiled to myself. It just felt nice knowing that she wasn't telling Hinata what happened today. That I knew, and he didn't.

* * *

**Misaki's POV**

I didn't sleep. I tossed and turned and just couldn't find myself to drift off. So I went to my chair and looked out the window and just sat there staring at the sky.

At about 1:15, I slipped out of the house and into the night. I reached for the handle to close the front door and noticed a note on the ground. I closed the door and picked up the note. In a green colored pen it said-

_Please trust me… I know it will be on blind trust, but please… Go to the tennis court before going to the creek… I promise it will be worthwhile._

"Huh?" Was my reaction. A hand snatched the note out of my hands. I looked up.

"Hey! Ikuto, give it back! I told you not to come," I said.

"How the hell are you going to get there? Where you going to walk or take a taxi in the middle of the night?" he said, in a mocking tone.

I was fuming, "Ikuto!"

I tried to grab the paper, but he held it high above his head. Ugh, why was he so much taller than me? He grinned at me and read the letter, still holding it above his head.

I grumbled, defeated. I saw him look at me and smirk. "You can have it back now," he said smugly. I rolled my eyes.

"I was just trying to prevent you from reading it. I don't need it anymore," I said. He held out his hand for me.

"Well, shall we go no, milady?" he asked, with such sweet formality it made me gag. I walked past him so he chased after me.

"Hey, where are you going?" he pouted.

"I don't really know," I admitted.

"You should try… What's the worst that could happen if you go to the tennis court?" he asked rhetorically.

"Okay, I'm going there," I decided.

"We. We'll go there," he said. I turned to face him, since he was walking behind me.

"You aggravate me so much," I grumbled. I snuck a glance at him next to me and found that he was smirking. _So achingly familiar…_

"Come on," he said getting in his car.

"You're not gonna leave me alone until I let you come, right?" I asked exasperated. He grinned in response. I got in his car and let him drop me to the park.

When we got to the park, I started to walk towards the tennis court and realized that Ikuto was following me. I really didn't want him to come. This was my problem, not his.

But I walked on, ignoring him. I was on my way to the creek, when Ikuto grabbed my arm.

"Misa-,"

"What the _hell _do you want?" I asked. I was not in the mood.

"The tennis court," he said.

"What about it?" I asked.

"Let's just go check, Misaki," he said.

"No, Ikuto. I need to see my kids," I said. I guess he gave up because he release my arm and let me walk ahead.

I was almost to the creek, surrounded my eerie oaks, when I turned around to see if Ikuto was there. I guess you could say that I was pretty surprised to see that he wasn't. _Where'd he go?_ I felt a chill down my back. I looked around. The place was pretty creepy at night. No. I wasn't the type to be scared. Be brave, I told myself. Go and beat the crap out of the kidnappers.

I reached the creek and looked around, finding no one.

"Look who decided to come without the money," I heard a voice say. Two people came out from behind the concealment of some trees. In front of them, with _really _sharp knifes threatening to cut their throats, was Amaya and Ichigo.

"Aaaah, how nice it is to finally meet you in person, Ayuzawa!" the man said. His voice was exactly like Fred's on the phone, so I guessed that that was him.

Suddenly, I felt someone take my hand and hold it behind my back in a tight grasp. Exactly how polices handcuff people. Except the person behind me didn't handcuff me…

He whispered in my ear, "Hi, Misaki. You were really stupid to come here. I thought you'd know better." What the…

"Tora," I hissed. "Let me go."

"No can do, Misaki. I'll get killed if this doesn't go right…" Tora whispered in my ear.

"Do you have the money or not, Misaki?" said the other man, Jake.

"No," I said indignantly.

Jake clenched his jaw. "Then these two here and you will die-," he started. Tora kneed me from behind and accidentally and I let out a little sound of pain, and then quickly stopped myself.

"Tora, let me go!" I gritted my teeth.

"Kill her!" Jake said.

"Wait!" a feminine voice said. A girl came out of the trees. "Tora, don't do this. Let her go!" she pleaded. Tora looked hesitant and then his face hardened.

"What should I do, Jake?" Tora asked. But there was something different about his tone. His eyes kept darting to the girl who had just revealed herself.

"Isn't it obvious? Kill her! Kill her now!" Jake said urgently.

"Kill the other girl, too!" Fred exclaimed.

"Misaki, go get your kids, when I say go," Tora whispered discreetly, while Jake and Fred were telling him to kill me and the other girl.

"Go!" Tora yelled.

And then several things happened at once.

Tora knocked Fred and Jake onto the floor and was wrestling with Jake. Fred tried to reach for Amaya and Ichigo (who were very awestruck at the change of events), but the girl rushed over to them and pulled them away from him. I rushed over to the girl and took Ichigo from her.

By the time I did that, Fred was right in front of us. With the knife. He tried to stab Amaya, but the girl pushed Amaya behind her and instead she had a knife through her shoulder. My eyes widened in horror. Fred was quick and before I could grasp what happened, he took the knife out of the girl and he stabbed Ichigo in the stomach. He screamed and rage took over my body.

I kicked Fred hard enough so that he fell on the ground. He tried to stab me with the knife, but I dodged just in time so that it only scraped my skin. He pushed me and stood up.

"Hey! Stop! I have the freakin' money you asked for!" a familiar voice said. I looked towards the direction of the voice. It was Ikuto. In his hands were large briefcases. Jake pushed Tora off of him and walked over to Ikuto nonchalantly. Everyone watched quietly, not daring to make a move.

"The money?" Jake said when he reached Ikuto and stood right before him.

"It's in here," he said, indicating the briefcases.

"Open it," Jake ordered. Ikuto held up a briefcase and balanced it on his arm. Jake opened it and inside it revealed wads upon was of money. I stared wide-eyed at the case. I've never seen so much money. Jake asked, "Is this $500 thousand?"

"Including this one too," Ikuto said meaning the other briefcase in his other hand. Jake took both of them and started to walk away.

"Come, Fred," Jake said. Fred followed him into the darkness.

But, he abruptly stopped turned and threw his blood-covered knife towards Amaya.

"No, MOVE!" I screamed. I tried to block it, but the knife impaled itself in her right lung. I did what I normally would do… I ran after Fred. Ikuto caught my arm and shook his head.

"It's not worth it. We have to get them to the hospital," he said. I stared at him and then nodded my head. We ran over to the others.

"Already called the ambulance. They're on their way," Tora said. He was kneeling over the girl and was teary-eyed.

"Who is that, Tora?" I whispered.

"My girlfriend," he whispered.

"Hey, Tora," she said gently. "I'm alright. It's just through the shoulder."

"It's my fault," Tora cursed himself. "If I didn't listen to what the boss told me, you wouldn't have gotten into this."

I saw her roll her eyes. "It doesn't matter, Tora. What matters now are the little children." His eyes darted over to them.

"Are the conscious?" Tora asked me.

"No," Ikuto answered. "They lost a lot of blood. The knife was very sharp."

I kneeled down next to Amaya and stroked her hair.

"Over here!" We heard a voice yell. Then we caught sight of a half a dozen medics running towards us. They took my children and put them in a stretcher and put them into the ambulance. Then they guided Tora's girlfriend into the ambulance.

After the injured were in, we climbed in.

"Will they be alright?" I asked them.

One of the medics bit his lip. "We'll try… We'll try to make them they're okay. But the little girl, a knife in her lung is pretty bad…"

I looked down as tears filled my eyes. Even if they recover the injuries… I'll never be able to pay for the surgery…

Ikuto pulled me into his warm embrace and whispered in my ear, "We have them, Misaki. They're with us right now and they'll be okay," he reassured.

* * *

_**A/n: Hey guys! I have time management issues ;) Sorry for the late update. Actually, I've been way to lazy to write this, so yeah. I would've update yesterday, though if it wasn't my sister's birthday Yup, I was too busy eatin' ice cream cake =D Who likes ice cream cake?**_

**_Okay, so to all you people out there who think that _Takumi_ and Misaki won't end up together: Are you crazy?! Of course they will. If they didn't, well… I would probably beat myself up for doing that…_**

**_To all the people out there thinking "Hey! Why doesn't he just tell her it's him already?": Just bare with me. I don't want her to find out, yet, cuz I don't think it's time. But she _will_ find out in the end. I promise._**

_**About the kids: They'll be okay. Don't worry ;)**_

**XxxCrimson FateXxx: **Thanks for reviewing almost every chapter! I really appreciate it ;)

**Sammie** (Guest Review): Lolz that made me crack up :D Don't worry, they're not gonna die =P

_**Sorry for the long author's note… I have a tendency to do this…**_

**TELL ME IF THERE'S ANY MISTAKES… I WAS WAY TOO LAZY TO REREAD THIS xD**


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18**

**Misaki's POV**

"She's going to need surgery. Her lungs were damaged pretty badly," the doctor informed.

"Surgery?" I whispered.

"She'll be okay after the surgery but if she doesn't get it, she'll die," the doctor said bluntly.

"And if the surgery goes wrong?" I asked.

"It depends on what goes wrong. There are different results," the doctor replied.

"And…," I looked down, my black bangs binding my shame-filled eyes,"… what if… I don't have the money to pay for the surgery?"

"Ma'am, we'll keep her alive as long as we can, but she needs surgery before 24 hours. I don't know how or where you're going to get the money, but if you don't then she's going to die soon." He looked at me with pity written all over his face.

I sighed, bottling up all my emotions for the moment, "Alright. I'll try to find some money before tomorrow night."

He nodded and I left.

I walked outside trying to figure out just how I was going to get the money. The bill was high already without the surgery to pay for.

I leaned my head against the tree. I had unconsciously been walking in the woods behind the hospital.

"God, please help me," I murmured.

"What's wrong, Ayuzawa?" someone whispered, sending chills down my spine.

My cheeks felt hot and I spun around and yelled pointing a finger at the guy, "Don't- do that!"

Ikuto smiled playfully, "Do what?"

"Ugh, you know- just don't…" I was losing again, just as I always had with Usui.

He smirked, obviously knowing that I was at a loss for words.

I glared at him, "Don't talk to me. Go away."

He chuckled and I turned away, facing my back to him.

"Hey, Misaki… She'll be alright. She's just getting surgery," he said gently, touching my arm.

"No… She's not getting surgery. I don't have the money. She's going to die!"

There was silence; I was still facing my back to him.

I sighed, closing my eyes and leaning against the tree again. "I've always dealt with this. _Always_. I've been having financial problems since my dad left. I've been able to deal with it up until now, but now it's wearing me down."

"Misa-chan," he said, quietly and this time his voice was different. It was… He sounded _exactly_ like Takumi. "You're not like this. Where's the tough fearless girl that I used to know?"

He gently took my hand from behind me and squeezed them. "I could give you the money, but I don't think you'd take it." His voice went back to his original one, leaving me to wonder whether I had just imagined Takumi's voice.

"I won't," I immediately replied. "I don't take money from other people."

"I know. But your daughter is going to _die_. You need it, Misaki," he said.

"I don't know what I'm going to do. How am I ever going to pay you back?" I asked, opening my eyes.

"You don't have to, Misa," he said. I shook my head. that was not happening.

"Misaki!" a voice yelled.

Ikuto let go of my hands and I turned around to see who was calling.

"Tora?" I asked. "How did you know we were here?"

"I saw you walking into the woods earlier," Tora replied.

"Oh," I said.

"Yeah, so anyway, there's this guy who just paid the entire cost of the surgery and everything else for you. He said he knew you. So he paid for it and left. Amaya's going go for the surgery now, you should probably go to see her before she has it," Tora explained.

"Wait… who paid?" I asked bewildered.

"They wouldn't tell me. Only the doctor knows who, and the man told the doctor not to tell you who it was," Tora said, hurriedly. "Now, if you want to see her…"

"…. Yeah, I want to see her. Where is she?" I asked, starting to walk along while he led me back to the hospital, Ikuto following close behind.

"Same room," he replied, shortly. After that we walked in silence to the hospital room, a thousand thoughts filling my mind.

* * *

**A WEEK LATER…**

Amaya's surgery went smoothly. Ichigo had been released from the hospital the day of the surgery and Amaya had been released two days later. I was a happy mother, you could say. After that, life went by as usual, but I hadn't seen Ikuto since the day in the woods. He's been calling off work saying he's sick. Honestly, it's getting me worried. But I pretend not to think about him and do my work quietly.

At the end of the day, I walk out of my office and quietly walk to the door out of the office, trying not to be noticed by Megan.

"Hey, Misaki, you're leaving?" she asked.

I nodded and reached for the doorknob that leads out of the office.

"This early? School just ended for the students," she asked.

"It ended for them an hour ago," I replied. "Anyway, can you take care of the work for me?"

"Sure, where are you going?" she asked.

I bit my lip, "… Ikuto's. I'm going to see if he's okay."

"You're worried about him?" she asked.

"N-no! I'm just going to scold him for taking these many days off from work!" I said.

She laughed. "Whatever you say…"

"What are you implying, Megan?"

"I just want to see if _you _are actually worried about someone other than you're family," she said, still laughing.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not a heartless person, Megan."

She scoffed. "Okay then…"

Fuming I said,"Fine then! Good bye!"

"Misaki, I was just kidding," she laughed.

I sighed, "Whatever, Megan. I'm tired, I'm going to leave now."

"Alright, bye, Misaki," she said.

"Bye," I replied and then left.

I drove to Ikuto's apartment wondering if he was really sick or not. I decided to let him rest, since he might be sick, and turned around and drove back home.

* * *

I spent the whole day spending time with Amaya and Ichigo. We played games and I helped them with my homework. I realized I hadn't really been spending much time with them anymore. When I sent them to bed, I walked down to the living room to clean up the mess that we made. Hinata ended up coming and helped me.

"Misaki," he said quietly.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You don't really have any feelings for me, do you?" he asked, his eyes fixed on picking up a stray toy.

I looked down. "I don't know, Hinata. I'm really confused and I don't want to think about any of that stuff right now."

"But you love Ikuto, don't you?" he asked, a bit too loudly, looking up into my eyes and blushing. My eyes widened as I comprehended what he was asking.

"W-What? I-I… no…" I stuttered.

"Misaki. Anyone could tell," he persisted.

I looked away from his scrutinizing gaze. "I don't. I don't okay… I don't!"

He sighed, obviously irritated and stood up. He offered me a hand and I took it gratefully and stood.

"Thank you," I whispered.

He nodded and said, "You should go see him. He's pretty sick isn't he?"

"I don't know if he's sick," I said.

"You should go check. I'm going to go upstairs and see if Kazumi is asleep."

"Okay, thanks." He walked up the stairs leaving me alone. I decided I would take his advice so I grabbed my coat and went out the door. I walked hurriedly to my car trying not to get wet from the pouring rain.

I slammed the car door as I sat and turned the engine on. I drove to Ikuto's thinking about what Hinata had said. Of course I didn't have feelings for Ikuto.

I was also thinking about everything that happened from the time Ikuto came. He just seemed so… similar to Usui Takumi. It baffled me, but some part of me thought maybe Ikuto was…

NO that couldn't be. No, that was way too….

I shook my head tying to shake those thoughts away.I arrived at the apartment complex and parked my car at at the opposite side of the street of the apartment. I got out and began to look for his apartment. It was right around the corner from where I parked the car, so I left my car there and went inside the building. I knocked on the door.

A few seconds later Ikuto was standing at the door, with his contacts off and glasses on.

"Misaki?" he asked. I couldn't reply at first, I was melting at the site of his emerald green eyes.

"Uh, hi," I finally said, a blush forming.

"Why are you here?" he asked, curiously.

"Well, I, uhm, came to see if you're alright," I said.

"Oh," he smiled. "Yeah, I'm getting better. I probably should be able to go to work tomorrow. How's Maya and Ichigo?"

"They're fine now… I'm so glad they are," I said, with a sigh of relief.

"That's good…" he trailed off.

* * *

**Ikuto/ Takumi's POV**

_Why do I get the feeling she's falling for Ikuto? _Has she really gotten over me, _Takumi_?

I can't take it anymore, I have to find out now.

* * *

**Misaki's POV**

We stood there in an awkward silence when he stated, "I have a question."

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Well… It's not a question. I have to tell you something," he said.

"Uh, yeah, what is it?" I asked, though something told me I should be afraid to ask.

He took a deep breath with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and it caught me way too off guard. It had confidence in it and for some reason a _resigned_ kind of look.

"I love you," he whispered.

* * *

_**A/n: So... who liked that little cliffhanger there? xD**_

_**The next chapter you will see what she says xD**_

_**Mwahahahaahahahahaaaaa :)**_

_**Sorry...**_

_**:P**_

_**ANYWAY... I am SO sorry I didn't update in a long time :/ Two months actually... Yeah, so, THANK YOU FOR THE MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS... I am so glad :) I actually never thought I'd get that many... THANK YOU SO MUCH everyone who reviewed :) I loooveeee yooouuuu!**_

**_Yeah, so tell me what you think of this chapter :)_**

**_~ Smitha out! Peace x_**


	19. Chapter 19

**Misaki's POV**

I felt as if a sudden wall of cold air hit me. I stood there frozen for a second, unsure of what to do. Then, dazed, I took a step back and took a deep breath.

I looked up and stared into his eyes. The beautiful emerald green eyes that haunted me, and reminded me of Usui. His green eyes seemed to tell me that Usui was watching this, listening for my reaction. And that scared me.

"I-Ikuto…" I stuttered. "I… I-I'm sorry… but I don't return the feelings," I whispered. " I don't return the exact feelings."

He stared at me for the longest time, so I felt like I should explain.

"I mean- I like you, it's just _because _of- because you remind me of Takumi Usui. That's why I trusted you immediately on the first day I met you. That's why I kind of fell for you because you look like him and you act like him and you confuse me like he does…," I bit my lip. I hope he understood what I was trying to say.

He had some type of expression on his face that I couldn't decipher. It confused me.

"Misa…chan," he started quietly.

I interrupted him, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just so confused. I can't- I'm sorry. I just hate to… hurt you…" I looked down.

"Misak-," he started again.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go now. I should make sure my kids are asleep. I'll see you later," I mumbled.

"Bye," he called to me.

"Bye," I replied.

"Misaki," he called again. "Be careful. It snowed earlier, the roads are slushy."

"It snowed?" I asked, spinning around.

"Yeah," he said.

"Oh… thanks," I said awkwardly, turning around. I walked down the stairs (he was on the second floor) and walked out of the building. I hurriedly walked around the corner and started walking across the street behind the back of the building to my car.

It was raining in sheets, so I could barely see anything.

Suddenly, I heard a panicked voice scream, "Misaki! MOVE!"

I turned around to see Ikuto harshly shove me forward. I fell on the black road on my hands and knees. I looked back, fuming, wondering as to why he did that.

My eyes widened as I witnessed a car slam into Ikuto at a tremendously fast speed. It hit him with full impact and he was flung against the car, first, and then to the ground as the car ran over him and kept driving until it disappeared. And instead of his life flashing before his eyes, it flashed before mine. And I realized… Ikuto didn't know me well enough to take a car hit for me… _Usui Takumi_…

I ran over to him and kneeled down next to him. "Usui no aho," I said with tears in my eyes. He opened his eyes slowly, and I was extremely relieved to find out he was still alive. I can't even describe how happy I was.

And he smirked, "You're calling me an idiot for saving your life?"

His voice was strained but he tried his best to say it in a way to make me annoyed.

"Yes," I said, gritting my teeth. And then I looked down, avoiding his eyes. "I'm not worth saving," I whispered.

His hand found its way to mine. He squeezed my hand. "Of course you are."

I decided not to answer that, so I looked around for my cell phone and when I found it, I hurriedly dialed for an ambulance.

I told them where I was and they told me to wait until they get there. I took a shaky breath, "Usui… I hate you, you know that. You cause me so much trouble."

"First of all… _I'm_ the one who causes _you _trouble?" He shook his head. "And second of all, is that the correct thing to say to someone who saved your life?"

"I still hate you," I said, stubbornly.

He sighed. "I know. Isn't that what you said to me the day before I left?"

I stared into his eyes, the guilt weighing heavily in my heart.

"I had to leave, I'm sorry," I whispered. "It was for Suzanna and my mom."

And the tears came. "Why would you come back for me, you idiot?"

"Because I love you," he said simply.

I sniffled. He lifted his hand slowly and brushed the tears. I caught his wrist. "Aren't you hurt?"

He smiled. "Nah… it's not bad."

"You just got hit by a car!"

"That's not enough to kill me," he said, laughing.

I sighed, frustrated. Just then, the ambulance came. They put him on a stretcher and got him onto an ambulance.

"Would you like to come along, miss?" a police officer asked.

I shook my head. "I'll check up at the hospital later," I whispered.

"Ok, ma'am," he said. The ambulance drove off.

I stared blankly down the road from which the car that hit Takumi came down from. There was something weird about it. The car knew we were crossing the street; it only started after I came around the corner. The driver should've seen me coming…

* * *

It's been about 5 days since Usui got hit by the car. I hadn't visited him at the hospital. I couldn't bring myself to.

I was walking back home from Strawberry Skies, talking to Megan on the phone.

"I still can't believe he pretended to be Ikuto!" I complained to her. She laughed in response.

"Have you even visited him?" she asked.

"No," I sighed.

"Why not?"

"I don't know," I confessed.

"Misaki… you should," she said.

"I know," I replied. "… I feel bad.. but…"

"Misaki-," she started.

"Wait a sec," I said. I was getting a strange feeling someone was following me. I searched the night looking for a sign of a person. No one. It was empty in the streets. I looked behind me and saw a figure a bit far back. It seemed like the same one that was watching me as I left Strawberry Skies.

I turned back and started walking, picking up my pace.

"Megan… I think there's someone following me," I whispered.

"Are you scared?" she asked.

I frowned. "No…"

"Just- just stay on the line, Megan," I ordered. Suddenly I felt a pair of arms hugging me from the back. I turned around immediately and slapped the guys face.

"What do you think you're-," I started, yelling.

"Misaki! It's just me," I heard a familiar voice.

"U-Usui…"

He smirked. "Yeah, did I scare you?" he taunted.

I put the phone back against my ear. "Megan, I'll call you back okay?"

"Sure," she said, hiding a giggle. "Remember the bet…"

"S-Shut up," I said, red immediately coloring my cheeks.

She laughed. "Bye." She hung up. I lowered my phone.

"What do you want, Usui?" I asked, sighing.

"Nice to see you, too," he said, smiling. "You know… you could be nice _once in a while_."

He started walking past me to the direction of my house and I turned around and followed him.

I sighed. "Sorry…" I mumbled. "So, they released you from the hospital already?"

"Already? It's been about a week," he said.

"Five days to be exact," I mumbled.

"Been counting, huh?" he taunted.

I ignored his comment. "How can you do stuff like that and act like nothing happened?" I asked, annoyed.

"Stuff like what?" he asked.

"L-Like…" I stuttered. He turned around and smiled. And I just noticed that the black dye in his hair had been washed off and his beautiful blonde hair was back. He stands there like a beautiful god. _So perfect_…

Immediately after I thought that, I turned a violent shade of red and averted my eyes from his gaze.

"U-um… so…," I trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Are you going home?" he asked.

"U-Um, yeah," I stuttered.

He frowned, "And you're walking… _alone_?"

"Yeah, and what's wrong with that?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips. He shakes his head, but says nothing.

He turns around and starts walking, "Come on, I'll walk you home."

I hesitated and then walked behind him.

It was quite an awkward silence after that. He walked with me all the way to my house, while I was thinking about all the things he had done for me. And the guilt was weighing down on my heart very heavily by the time I walked up to my front door.

I touched the door knob, but didn't open it.

"U-Um… Usui?" I asked, staring at my feet.

"Hm?" he asked from behind me.

"Th-thank… you…," I whispered, my eyes still on the ground. I was never good at saying thank you. "Thank you for risking your life to save me… Thank you for everything you've done for me." I looked up to see his reaction.

His emerald eyes had widened slightly and he looked at me with a kind of surprised look. Then he smiled a bit.

"You…," he whispered, his one arm wrapping around my waist and his other cupping my cheek. "You always tend to surprise me like that with sudden reactions like that."

He leaned in… and kissed me. And despite having that voice that said 'push him away', I didn't. I couldn't. After, missing him, after being affected by him for fifteen years… I just couldn't push him away. I couldn't do what I would've done if it was fifteen years ago. I missed him… and I needed him. And so I kissed him back.

I don't know how long the kiss was… but I had to admit that it was the best feeling I probably had in _years. _And so when he released me, I didn't want to let go. I looked into his eyes and I could tell I was blushing a lot by the teasing look in his eye. _Damn him._

I gritted my teeth and started, "Usui-,"

"I'll see you tomorrow Misaki," he said, simply.

I stared at him blankly and then my senses returning to me, "You better come to work tomorrow; otherwise I'll beat the shit out of you."

He laughed and pulled me in for another kiss, a short one that didn't last long. "I will, Misaki."

"You better," I muttered. He smiled at me and told me good night and started to walk away.

He stopped for a second with his back to me. "I'll come to pick you up tomorrow… so," and I could tell he was smirking here, "don't forget to lock your bedroom door this time."

I let those words sink in and then… "Usui, you PERVERT!"

* * *

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	20. Chapter 20

**Misaki's POV**

I heard the doorbell ring while I was shoving food down my throat. _Ugh, why did I wake up so late today? _I got up and threw up the rest of my food out.

"It's _him_," I heard a voice say from the door. Amaya said 'him' with such a voice of disgust. I rushed to the door and found Usui there. Figures, ever since that dinner with Hinata and Takumi, she's been really annoyed at Usui. I don't blame her, I'm pretty sure this is how I would act if someone did what he did to my mom.

"Hi, Usui," I greeted him.

He smiled, "Hey, Misa-chan."

"Bye, mom, see you after school," Maya said turning around and walking away.

"Okay, Maya, see you later," I said and kissed her forehead gently before she trotted up the stairs. "One second, Usui." I walked away from the door and got all my stuff and followed him out the door.

"So, how have you been?" he asked, when we got into the car.

"Me? How are _you _feeling? You just came back from the hospital," I said.

"No need to worry that much, Misa-chan," he teased. "They wouldn't have discharged me if I wasn't fine."

"Oh," was all I said.

We drove in silence until I told him something that was bothering me for awhile. "That car. It was no accident. They were trying to kill me."

His face darkened. He wouldn't look at me. "What are you saying, Ayuzawa? That's stupid."

"No! You know it too! The person in that car was trying to kill me!" I said, raising my voice.

He didn't reply. He just drove on. "Hmph!" I said, turning and facing the window.

When he parked at the school, he just sat there and made no move to get out. I opened the door and started to get out.

"Yes, Misa-chan, he was," he whispered. And he got out of the car and walked toward the school. All I could do was stare after him.

It was only a nagging thought, but after he confirmed it, I was still shocked.

During our lunch break, we all ate together. Usui wouldn't speak at all, and I wouldn't talk to him. Megan noticed something was wrong.

"What happened?" she whispered to me.

I shook my head, which she knew to interpret it as 'I don't want to talk about it'.

After lunch, I waited a moment and then walked to Usui's office. I closed the door behind me so no one could hear us. He stared at me for a while and then closed his eyes.

'What, Misaki?" he asked, sounding a bit irritated.

Something in his tone, made me not want to talk to him anymore. "It's uhm... nothing, nevermind. If you don't want to talk then, bye," I said, opening the door. Suddenly, he was right next to me. He closed the door with his palm and locked it. He turned to me and looked into my eyes.

"What is it, Misaki?" he asked, his eyes burning through mine.

I closed my eyes to avoid his gaze. "I just wanted to... ask something."

"About that car?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said my eyes still closed.

"Misa... can we just forget about that? Please?" he asked, his voice quiet.

"Why?" I said, and I opened my eyes and looked at him defiantly. "If you know something, then tell me... I'm not going to let him go when he was trying to kill me."

I closed his eyes and shook his head while smiling lightly. "I should've known. You probably won't let it go."

"No, I won't! Do you know him?" I asked.

"Yes, but no," he said.

"Oh, yeah, I'm supposed to know what that means?" I asked.

"Misaki..." he said, walking away from me and back to his desk. "Just forget about it."

"No, Usui, I'm not gonna forget about it just like that," I said.

"Well, too bad because I'm not going to talk about it," he said.

"Fine!" I said, fuming. I walked out the door and slammed it shut.

I started walking to my office, but a voice stopped me. "My, my, Misaki. Causing such a commotion. Just what kind of reputation would that give the school?"

I turned a bit to the right. "Tora."

"Why yes, that's my name," he said, lazily.

"Just so you know my school has a great reputation, so I don't know what you're talking about," I told him, defensively.

"But ever since you've got that new vice principal, you've..." and he paused at this examining his fingernails and smiling deviously, "become distracted from your job."

I had no response to this because, I guess, it was true.

"And he's been taking leave a lot recently hasn't he?"

"What's your point Tora?" I asked.

"I'm just saying that he's been bending a lot of rules. The school isn't functioning as properly as it was before he became vice principal," he explained. "What I'm saying is...if this keeps up then the school board will have to fire him."

* * *

"Hey!" I yelled at the kid who was standing against the lockers making out with his girlfriend. They both turned towards me. "Why aren't you in class? The bell rang more than five minutes ago."

I walked closer to them, and the girl moved back in fear. The guy stood his ground. "So?"

"You're supposed to be in class. I'll give you one chance if you go now," I said gritting my teeth.

The girl nodded her head curtly and ran out of there. The guy sighed and lazily turned the opposite direction as the girl went.

"Geez, Prez, why you gotta be so scary?" Usui asked behind me. I jumped up a little and then swiftly punched him in the face.

"Ow ow ow," he said rubbing his face.

"Don't sneak up behind me," I said, sternly.

"Whatever," he said, shrugging it off.

I sighed, frustratingly. I turned around to make sure the student had gone off to his classroom. He wasn't anywhere in the halls and I wasn't sure if he had gone upstairs.

"Damn it, if you hadn't come I would've been able to keep an eye on him," I cursed.

"Why do you care so much, Misa?" Usui asked, lazily.

"First of all, _we _should care, this is our school! There's been an increasing amount of ditching going on in our school," I told him. "You're too careless, Usui." I walked away from him in the direction the guy I was yelling at went. I reached the end of the hallway and decided to go to the front of the school instead of upstairs. I opened the doors and kept walking. As I turned the hallway, I saw the guy again.

I knew he didn't go back to his class! He thinks he can outwit me? Well, he's messing with the wrong person. Usui grabbed my arm from behind.

"Don't act _too _rash," he whispered in my ear and released me.

"I already gave him a warning, Usui," I said, walking away. The boy was leaning against his locker on his phone. He didn't see me approach him. I snatched the phone away from him.

"I told you to go to your class!" I said.

"Well, I didn't want to go," he shrugged nonchalantly. He held out his hand, as if expecting his phone back.

"I'm not giving it back. You're parents will have to come and pick it up," I said, slipping the phone into my front jeans pocket. "And as for you, you're getting suspended. You have to learn to do what older people tell you to do."

"I'll do what I _want _to do," he said. He started walking away from me.

I did the rational thing. I kicked him. And then I grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"Listen, kid. I'm the principal and you do things my way. When I say to go to your class, you go there. Am I clear?"

The looks on his face told me I was intimidating him.

"Now, go to the office. You better be there when I come."

He nodded his head.

"What's your name?"

"Victor."

"Okay, go now." I said, threateningly. After I watched him walk down the hall, I felt a hand clamp my shoulder.

"That's technically child abuse there, Misaki," Usui said. "It's not the right way to deal with them. If he reports that to the police, you're in trouble."

"It's a bad habit. I do that whenever someone is not behaving the way I want them to," I told, him, gritting my teeth.

He gently kissed me on the cheek. I could feel my face turn red instantly. "I know Misaki, but you have to stop. I have no idea how you got by if you did this before... And Tora says _I'm _bringing the reputation of the school down."

My eyes narrowed at him. "You heard our conversation?"

He smiled and started walking away from me. "There's nothing that Usui doesn't hear."

I rolled my eyes. That stupid self-conceited, arrogant jerk.

* * *

_**A/n: Sorry I didn't update in a long time. I just get lazy xP**_

_**Tell me what you think! reviewww! ^^**_

_**~xo, Smitha  
**_


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